The Importance of Quality Lighting

By Parker Allen

In January of this year, a metal storage and distribution facility in Wisconsin decided it was time for a lighting upgrade. The existing high-pressure sodium fixtures gave the facility a dated look. The amount of light inside the facility was insufficient, and the exterior lighting didn’t provide full coverage of the building and parking lot. The facility reached out to Contemporary Energy Solutions, an ESCO based in Manitowoc, WI, with whom they had previously worked on revitalizing the office and maintenance areas. CES proposed a comprehensive lighting upgrade for the entire facility, inside and out, bringing a modern look to the building and offering significant energy savings.

The first step in the process was to install six LED high bays to demo the new lighting. “We can ask the right questions, but until you show a customer the solution in practice, everyone might not be on the same page,” explained Brad Butler, Sales Engineering Manager at CES. “We love doing the samples because that helps solidify expectations,” he noted.

During the day, the facility is bathed in ambient light. Butler traveled to the facility in the early hours of the morning to examine the new lighting in the absence of any sunlight. He wanted to “see what the customer was seeing on a daily basis.” The customer felt that the original sample LEDs didn’t provide quite enough light, so they were upgraded to higher wattage fixtures.

The old 400W high-pressure sodium lights were replaced with Orion Energy Systems LED high bays – 136W fixtures in high-ceiling areas and 68W fixtures in low-ceiling areas. Due to size differences between the old lights and the new fixtures, the LEDs in the high bay area had to be installed lower than the previous fixtures, below the structure of the roof that would have obscured some of the light. In the areas with a lower ceiling, CES tried to raise the fixtures as much as possible in order to maximize storage space and maneuverability. Brad commented, “Selling LEDs comes with an insurance that you won’t have to touch the lights for a long time.” Taking care to install the lights in the right position from the get-go ensured that no one would have to get back up there for a long time.

Upgrading the exterior lighting at the facility proved to be a bit more complicated. CES had to navigate a slight delay in the availability of product, as well as the Wisconsin weather in late winter and early spring. Some of the existing lights and power supplies were severely degraded, even falling off the building. So, the solution involved replacing the existing fixtures, as well as adding new lights and running new power lines where necessary.

CES’s installation crew came in on nights and during weekends in order to minimize downtime and inconvenience for the customer. From the time when the official purchase order was received to when the final fixture was installed, the project took less than two months to complete. 114 new fixtures were installed, each controlled by a motion sensor that will dim and then turn off the fixture after a period of inactivity.

CES left no stone unturned. They took amperage and voltage readings of the existing lighting to accurately determine the wattage of the HPS fixtures. They reviewed multiple months’ worth of utility bills to determine a blended kWh rate of $0.1711, which the customer agreed was in line with previous months’ bills. From these carefully calculated numbers, CES determined an annual savings, on both energy costs and maintenance, of $27,016, leading to a payback period on the project of less than 3 years.

Furthermore, $6,100 of the project cost was covered by incentives through FOCUS ON ENERGY®, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy program in partnership with the state’s utilities for residential and business customers. CES confirmed the client’s eligibility and verified product requirements in order to qualify for the program, significantly lowering the out-of-pocket costs for the customer.

The customer expressed their complete satisfaction with the lighting transformation. The benefits go beyond the increased light levels and energy savings, which are significant. The modern, clean look provided by the new lighting reflects well on the company. When clients come to the facility, they are impressed by the well-lit, up-to-date appearance. Employees have a comfortable, safe environment in which to work. These benefits are harder to quantify but are no less real.

“Lighting is such an overlooked factor,” Butler explained. It may only be 20% of your utility bill, but it effects every other aspect of a building. With the lighting upgrade from CES, this metal storage and distribution facility has transformed its facility for years to come. ■