By all reports we’ve heard from scores of interviews with experts in energy-efficient green building by far the best sales tools for convincing hesitant building or facility managers (or owners) in the wisdom of investing in greener energy-saving solutions are case histories.

Nothing is more powerful in proving the promise of energy savings and an acceptable payback period than sharing well developed case histories that illustrate successful green building projects similar to a customer’s plans.

 Every distributor should load up on all available case histories from the manufacturers and consultants they deal with. It is critical to the distributor’s sales efforts to gather solid examples covering as many different applications as possible. Here are two outstanding examples of recent green success stories we’ve come across:

Whole-building lighting control system saves Las Vegas sports and entertainment center $200K in annual electrical costs

Each year the Thomas & Mack Center hosts more than 250 diverse events ranging from basketball tournaments and boxing matches to conferences and exhibitions. Located on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), the facility was completed in 1983 and the original electrical design hadn’t concerned itself with lighting control.

All that changed when the Thomas & Mack Center suddenly went dark after a power failure during a nationally televised basketball game. That incident spurred installation of a more reliable whole-building lighting control system. Space constraints in the facility made the use of bulky cabinets and relays impracticle.

The Schneider Electric Powerlink G3 3000 Level whole-building, schedule-based control system was selected because of its powerful control, system flexibility and very compact installed footprint.

Once installed, the Powerlink system provided monitoring capabilities with each of four quad segments of the facility metered to enable monitor fuses, lamps, and other electrical loads. Any standard Web browser can be connected to the LAN in order to monitor the system, make schedule changes, or prepare control overrides.

In addition to greatly improved control of the facility’s lighting, the new lighting control system delivered an energy savings payback of $200,000 in year one. The new system paid for itself in approximately eight months. Other system benefits include UNLV’s ability to negotiate lower energy rates with Nevada Power because the facility’s power usage is now monitored. Monitoring also allows facility managers to schedule events such as basketball practices during off-peak hours, further conserving energy.

LED retrofit lights up Pennsylvania’s state capital      

Because lighting typically accounts for 22% of a city’s total electrical consumption, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services sought a more cost-effective approach to lighting the streets and walkways of the Capital Complex in Harrisburg.

With 330 lighting fixtures providing illumination within the PA Capital Complex, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services set as its project goals to high-quality lighting visability, decreased energy consumption, reduced operating costs, while maintianing the aesthetic appeal of the existing artistic period street lamps the Capital Preservation Committee wished to preserve.

The ideal solution was OSRAM SYLVANIA’s Post Top Fixture LED Retrofit Kit, a LED street lighting system that competes with high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps. The new product enabled the PA capital to achieve its lighting goals and save energy with the highly-efficient LED Retrofit Kit – without a fixture change.

OSRAM SYLVANIA’s Post Top Fixture LED Retrofit Kit uses only 40W to produce ample white light while replacing standard 150W High Pressure Sodium systems, reducing power usage by well over 100W for each fixture. 

Based on the rated 17-year life of the Post Top Fixture LED Retrofit Kit, the retrofit is projected to save Pennsylvania over $743,000 over the LED system life, including $42,000 annually in reduced energy costs, as well as lessened maintenance. With a 4.5 year payback, the state hopes to receive a ROI of nearly 200%.