Meet three distributors that have deep green roots: Sonepar’s Capital Lighting & Supply, Sonepar’s Eoff Electric, and Franklin Empire in Canada.

Capital Lighting & Supply, a division of Sonepar USA located in Maryland and Virginia has been serving the energy-efficient lighting market for over 16 years. “Our goal is to provide our customers with products that will save energy resulting in lower operating expenses as well as reduced maintenance costs,” said David Levine, VP Energy & Maintenance Services. “By delivering product that reduces wattage and with increased life, we are able to make our customers more competitive in their marketplace. Additionally, increasing the useful life of the product in the ceiling reduces the overall amount of waste contributed into landfills.”

According to Les Williamson, President of Eoff Electric, Green Electrical is an evolving issue in the electrical industry and has been for some time. “This is especially true in the lighting world which is the largest portion of the market.

“Eoff has a dedicated team focused on automated energy management,” said Williamson. “Our projects have saved over 3 million kilowatt hours each year, and we have only scratched the surface in a huge untapped market for industrial retrofit. We’re doing training sessions on the financial payback for installing new high performance energy-efficient lighting at industrials and utilities. We’ve completed an energy audit and helped customers to file for energy rebates for installation of energy-efficient electrical products. Believe me, it’s powerful when you can deliver the rebate check to a customer to thank them for their business.”

Over the next five years, Williamson thinks any electrical distributor involved in commercial, institutional, and industrial construction stand to miss a big business opportunity if they don’t have trained personnel on their staff who are skilled in Green Building. “If the distribution channel fails to get a handle on this market, they stand to lose sales opportunities because we’re seeing new companies pop up that are totally focused on providing green expertise,” added Williamson. 

The growth of the Green Electrical market is a global phenomenon and Franklin Empire Inc., an electrical distributor with branches across Quebec and Ontario, Canada, has ramped up both its services and product offering to better support green customers – and growth.

In business since 1942, Franklin Empire is the largest independent full-line electrical distributor in Eastern Canada. Approximately 10 years ago, the company began paying close attention to the increased interest in energy efficiency.

Today, in the energy efficiency segment, Franklin Empire specializes in lighting and lighting controls, occupancy sensors and time switches, programmable electronic thermostats, automation and controls, power factor correction systems, NEMA^® Premium Motors, variable frequency drives (VFDs), and soft starters.

Cara Backman, Marketing Manager for the company explained that while lighting has historically been important to Franklin Empire, a strategic acquisition helped to expand green sales. “Since we acquired the Power Factor and Motor Repair shops (Electro Mecanik Playford) in 2000, our awareness for energy saving products has become even more focused. In the past few years, we have accepted the fact that ‘Greening’ properties is becoming much less a choice than an imperative.

“The motivation behind our energy efficiency marketing focus is to assure that we are top-of-mind to our clients and potential clients when they are seeking expertise and advice on solutions and products, she continued.  “Most electrical distributors carry the same products; our goal is to ensure that our value-added services differentiate us from the others. Our focus on energy efficiency is another solution we use to help our customers optimize production and operations and enable them to be more competitive and profitable in their marketplace,” Backman said.

Franklin Empire has targeted existing commercial and industrial properties by offering a free energy audit to analyze the savings that could benefit customers through a lighting retrofit. In 2008, the company focused on buildings that fell into a specific size category specified by the regional utility.

Also helping to spur the market was a utility rebate program for lighting and motors which gave the distributor an opportunity to identify clients that could benefit from the program. Franklin Empire has also prospered from serving the HVAC market, by replacing dampers with variable speed drives (VFDs), and by helping Waste and Water Treatment plants to increase pump efficiency by installing VFDs.

Franklin Empire’s energy efficient solutions are applicable to all the customers/markets it serves, including electrical contractors, institutional and government customers (schools, hospitals, property managers, municipalities, and government agencies), national accounts (multi-site retailers, restaurant chains and department stores), designers and architects, general contractors, industrial plants (including MROs and OEMs), and residential customers.

“Because we have been involved in lighting since our company began, as new products have evolved, we have always offered them to our clients,” said Backman. “Our lighting specialists have been IES accredited and keep up to date with new products and lighting solutions through industry courses and manufacturer training.”

In reality, Franklin Empire has taken many additional steps that have given the company a Green Advantage in its markets, including:

• Acquired Electro Mecanik-Playford to become a leading manufacturer of Power Factor Correction Systems.
• Joined BOMA and as a member the company advertises through the association and participates in its events to keep up to date on new programs, strategies and networking opportunities.
• Franklin Empire is an Energy Star partner and promotes the Energy Star qualified products.
• In 2005, company became the exclusive Siemens Industrial distributor; therefore its specialists are trained on a regular basis about new products and solutions.
• Company created a corporate “Green Logo” which we use on promo items.
• Company developed a section on its website dedicated to Energy Efficiency including a guide to energy efficient products, links to relevant websites, articles and programs.
• Team includes motor specialists that undergo regular training from motor manufactures to be able to educate our customers.
• Management hired qualified technicians who analyze customers’ needs for power factor correction systems, as well as Thermography specialists and invested in the necessary equipment to do tests at customer sites to verify heat loss, which represents loss of energy.

Of course, not all distributors wish to become as immersed in the Green Building market as Franklin Empire, however, by making similar decisions a company can prepare itself to better compete for, and land, Green Building projects. 

According to David Levine, VP Energy & Maintenance Services for Capital Lighting & Supply, “Product knowledge tends to be the biggest factor that separates the electrical distributors who excel in this market from those who just supply the product requested.

“The investment for the right team can be high (and it takes a team) and the sales cycle is typically 6 to 12 months. Recognize that while we are selling a product, it is more important to understand that this is a financial sale. A successful company understands what their customer deems as a viable project based on that customer’s financial model. Over the years, we have seen several distributors make the initial investment but not the time investment necessary to become successful in this exciting market,” explained Levine.

Today, I joined an online conversation that is one example of a roaring national debate.

Is our Federal government interfering in the economy as some profess?

Or are government policies and spending actually stimulating American innovation?

The conversation taking place in a networking group dedicated to electrical, lighting and energy efficiency industry pros was centered on two central issues related to U.S. electrical energy efficiency – and the economic health of the electrical construction industry.

Issue number one: The current financial crisis is hampering the retrofitting of much of America’s commercial buildings because many building owners are hesitant to invest in this recessionary environment, and Issue number two: The value of federal government market intervention to stimulate and support the adoption of energy-efficient solutions – specifically the ARRA funding. 

One fellow, a marketing man for a manufacturer of energy-efficient T5 retrofit lighting systems, had posted a blog by Shay Walsh that promotes the company’s products. Walsh’s blog was an interesting article that reported on research findings published by Pike Research regarding the current U.S. market for energy-efficient buildings.

The Pike Research report claimed that the current level of investment by cash-strapped building owners to make their existing buildings more energy-efficient has failed to keep pace with the growing demand for electrical power.

The report stated, “The limited investment in building efficiency is not keeping pace with the growing national demand for energy” – a fact that our entire industry should be concerned about.

Things got interesting when another reader, an electrical sales enegineer, responded by slamming Uncle Sam’s value in helping. “Come on guys,” taunted the enegineer. “Do you know of anything that the government meddles in that actually works as it was supposed to? If you say you have, I have got some Ocean Front property in Arizona that you may want to look at. LOL.”

Well, I may not want to take this guy up on his Arizona beach deal, but I did want to share a few of my thoughts with him. In my estimation this line of thinking that the Feds are a bunch of screw ups that simply waste taxpayer money misses a key point.

As Walsh puts it in his blog, “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is paving the way for commercial property owners to follow the federal government’s lead in funding efforts to retrofit their own buildings.”

I agree with Walsh’s assertion that our government should be applauded for its “effort to lead by example that has caused major companies to catch on and invest in green updates for their properties.” 

Frankly, hearing the constant aspersions about Uncle Sam’s efforts to resurect our damaged economy has gotten harder and harder for me to take. Especially in the middle of a downturn that is an unmitigated disaster for the contruction industry -- and the manufacturers and distributors that supply it.

No. I am not saying that government should replace private sector investing in order to create jobs. However, government has a responsibility and a duty to protect the greater good of the nation. And without government intervention the current state of construction – and electrical sales – would undoubtably be far grimmer if it were not for the Fed’s attempts to prime our economic pump. A majority of this nation's best economic minds agree that without the strong (and expensive) federal government intervention we have seen in the last two years, it is likely that our economy would have spiralled even further down.

Fact remains that most states are seeing significant benefits from ARRA funding which was passed by Congress in Feb. '09 and is still funnelling funding into government construction, increased building energy efficiency, retrofitting upgrades, support for solar, wind and battery technologies, job retraining for displaced workers to gain green technology skills...and the list goes on!

For all the naysayers who bellow that government “meddling” is no help, I point to the article I'm writing for the October issues of the Electrical Distributor magazine.

I’m reporting on the newly minted Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. Early entrants, GE and Coulomb Technologies and Nissan are all marketing or soon launching EV charging stations for both consumers and commercial areas to support the coming wave of new chargeable EVs from GM, Nissan and other auto/truck manufacturers.

These companies are involved thanks to the U.S. DOE's funding support of $2.4B that guaranteed seeding EV charging stations in multiple markets. I look forward to interviewing the distributors who have decided to jump on this new market. I wonder if those EDs are annoyed that Uncle Sam ponnied up the seed funding to create what many project as a massive future market.

If the consumer finds chargeable vehicles attractive, this new emerging market will benefit contractors, distributors, and manufacturers here in the U.S. -- thanks to government meddling!

 Meanwhile an upstart industrial nation -- CHINA -- has plans to lead the world in EV production with that government meddling in their own economy to the tune of $14.7B to support China's domestic makers of alternative-fuel vehicles.

Wake up all you free marketers that howl at every Fed interjection in our economy! America will get left behind in the new world economy unless we have progressive federal government vision and leadership to invest in new technologies like EVs. Despite all the griping about government spending and our deficit I feel strongly that President Obama is steering the U.S. in a forward-thinking direction by investing in new technologies, energy-related R&D, and in making higher education and workforce training more available.

America, and our industry, will reap much of the reward for Obama's visionary agenda 5, 10 and 20 years from now. But making bold moves – like funding EV infrastructure -- could help America remain among the world's leading economies when my 14-year old daughter starts her career.

Next week I’ll report fully on the Pike Research report on the challenges we face to retrofit America’s commercial buildings to be greener. The report’s executive summary can be seen at http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/energy-efficiency-retrofits-for-commercial-and-public-buildings .

While LED lighting solutions still require a longer ROI/payback period than most other lighting technologies, a growing number of customers continue to opt for the benefits LED Lighting products suggest – namely, long life rating, minimal maintenance costs, exceptional dimmability, and exceptional white light brightness.

The higher costs for LED solutions that make the sale difficult in commercial building projects seem to be more acceptable to institutional customers where quick payback is a lesser requirement for the deal. These customers with a long-term view to capital investments include municipalities, colleges, universities and hospitals.

It makes sense that a facility manager overseeing a needed lighting upgrade for a school or town property is far less concerned about a short payback. Afterall, these institutions are happy to reduce their annual energy operating costs which helps them control their budget. That is more important in this market than whether the payback period is two years, or less as is demanded in the commercial building market – or six, seven or eight years.

Here are some recent LED sales successes:

1)      New England classrooms light up with LED

Babson College, in Wellesley, Massachusettes, renovates several older classrooms each summer, and last summer’s projects included the college’s first use of LED lighting for ambient illumination. The solution selected was Lithonia Lighting’s RTLED system.

“We focused on two 760-square-foot classrooms in Babson Hall and completley upgraded them,” said C. J. Smith, Babson’s capital projects manager.

The classrooms feature 24 RTLED fixtures that produce up to 50% energy savings while delivering quality lighting performance. Of critical importance to Babson’s team is the promise of a significant reduction in maintenance costs thanks to the RTLED system’s 50,000-hour rated system life without changing lamps or ballasts.

“We were immediately pleased with the color temperature and controllability of the RTLED systems,” said associate vice president Shelley Kaplan who had previously not been satisified with the color temperatures and fixture dimensions of other LED systems.

“This is the first system we evaluated that had the ability to replace our T8 fluorescents and truly deliver on the promise of LEDs,” said Kaplan. “If LED lighting can deliver the levels of useful life anticipated – which could be as many as 10-15 years – the reduced demand for labor required to maintain the fixtures will in and of itself prove their value.”

2)      LED Lighting brightens garage in Dixie

The design-build developer selected to construct an $8 million, 920-space parking garage adjecent to the Auburn University campus in Auburn, Alabama also turned to an LED lighting solution for the North Park Parking Deck.

The Auburn project was not only the city’s largest-ever privately built infrastructure, but also the first garage project completed by construction firm Donald H. Allen Development, Inc. to use LED lighting. Don Allen, president of the design-build firm, led the construction project that settled on the installation of 214 PGL7 LED luminaires, as well as other Kim Lighting products.

The development team conducted a payback analysis on the newly developed patent-pending PGL7 LED fixtures available from Kim Lighting, a pioneer in parking structure lighting.

 “The industry standard is metal halide, but for a lot of other reasons we went with LED, which offered a very promising cost-benefit curve,” said project leader Greg Darden.

While the LED fixtures had a higher initial cost, the LED system carries a 5-year warranty with light source life rated to last more than 50,000 hours, as compared to only 10,000 to 24,000 hours rated for comparable high-intensity discharge (HID) luminaires such as metal halide and high-pressure sodium.

The decision was based on the greater energy efficieny and longer life of the LED system which would reduce daytime electrical consumption by nearly 45% and nightime consumption by more than 50%.   

When was the last time that you called your local electrical utility to thank them for their investments in support of increased energy efficiency?

Oh, you say you've never thanked the power company for the increased interest in and sales growth of T5 and T8 lighting systems, electronic ballasts, dimmers, occupancy sensors, NEMA® Premium motors, and solar energy gear? Well maybe you should!

Fortunately for the Green Building construction segment, the utility industry is firmly behind helping American consumers, businesses and organizations reduce their energy consumption.

Consistent promotion by the Utility Industry has been a powerful driver behind the continued expansion of Energy-Efficiency as a growth industry. Fortunately, even in the depths of this terrible recession utility industry support has continued to pay dividends for everyone involved with the application of products and technologies designed to reduce electricity consumption, as well as those that produce renewable energy.

If the connection between the utilities and your own company's sales isn't crystal clear, just try to imagine electrical distributors and contractors shelling out over $6 BILLION this year to help spur more consumer interest in energy-efficient solutions. Fact is, the good old utilities in the U.S. and Canada are investing that amount as we write this, and everyone connected to electrical, lighting, lighting and building controls, LEED certified construction, and solar and wind energy should offer a big "Thank You!" to Big Power.

At the heart of the utility industry's efforts is the Consotium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), a national industry group whose members include over 100 leading utilities and organizations having a vested interest in reducing America's energy usage ( www.cee1.org ).

A look at the 2009 CEE Annual Report and Efficiency Program Report illustrates just how important energy efficiency has become to the utility industry. CEE's 2009 Annual Report includes feedback from energy efficiency program administrators in 46 states. Since 2006, the combined budgets reported for electric and gas energy efficiency programs in the U.S. have more than doubled – growing from $2.6 billion to $5.3 billion in 2009. In 2009, the industry invested $4.4 billion to promote electric energy efficiency here in the U.S. with the greatest funding going to the combined commercial and industrial sector and load management efforts (44%), and residential programs (29%).

That's a lot of bucks being spent on education, rebates, incentives and market transformation programs designed to make it easier for distributors and contractors to market and sell green solutions.

Of great importance is CEE's role in helping to benchmark specific categories of energy-efficient products. CEE has been a leader in formulating and sharing standardized accepted specifications for energy-efficient products which has allowed utilities to recommend CEE-approved lists of more efficient products from many manufacturers, including motors, lighting, and ENERGY STAR products.

CEE has also spread the word on energy efficiency with the development of efficiency program templates and tools such as the Motor Decisions Matter promotion program behind NEMA® Premium labeled products. These efforts have made it easier for local adoption by individual utilities that increase their rebates, refunds, educational efforts in their efforts to curb electricity consumption and 

Amazingly, in the midst of the current receesion, the utilities have significantly increased their expenditures to help their customers curb their energy appetite. CEE reported that the combined efficiency program budgets reported by both U.S. and Canadian members now total $6.1 billion, an increase of 36% over 2008!

So why not take a minute to call up your local utility and thank them for all the green support – and greenbacks – they're supplying to make energy-efficient solutions the top-selling category in our business.

Three segments in the construction industry that remain sharply down in overall new investments are Lodging, Retail and Education. However, all three markets continue to see increased green building activity. Here are three good examples of project case histories that place an emphasis on energy-efficient infrastructure.

Hotel reduces energy consumption by 33% using wireless HVAC and lighting controls

Wyndham Hotel recently determined that a wireless, batteryless control system and devices built on the EnOcean control platform could dramatically reduce hotel room energy consumption by controlling room lighting and air conditioning.

The hotel completed an independent test in one of the company’s facilities where HVAC and lighting energy savngs were realized by utilizing sensor and control devices that respond to hotel room occupancy status.

The project team installed Magnum Energy Solution’s Verde Fluorescent Light Energy Controller and Keycard entry switches, in combination with wireless wall switches, lighting sensors and receivers marketed by ILLUMRA. All the devices from both companies share the EnOcean wireless, batteryless, energy harvesting RF technology.

The hotel room energy system determines if the room mis vacant or occupied according to the system’s Keycard Access Switch. Upon entry, inserting the access card alerts the energy system that the room is occupied turning on lights and A/C. When the guest leaves the room the card automatically shuts off controlled lights and outlets and adjusts A/C to energy-saving level.

These systems are projected to reduce hotel lighting and cooling costs by 33%, and generate a $73,000 annual cost savings for a 293-room hotel.

Outdoor goods retail chain adds new level of power management and lighting control

Like most other retailers, Cabela’s ®, a Sidney, Nebraska-based chain that caters to the clothing and gear needs of hunting, camping and fishing enthusiasts, consumes approximately 50% of its electricity for lighting. Prior to expanding with the addition of 10 new stores, the chain studied the energy usage and needs to determine possible savings.

The resulting solution included installation of an integrated energy management system from Schneider Electric comprised of the Powerlink® G3 2000 Level Intelligent Lighting Control Panelboards, Square D Commercial Grade Occupancy Sensors, and Powerlogic® Power Meters in all 10 new stores.

The unified approach has had the following results:

• New stores are 21% more energy efficient than the older facilities
• $1 million in energy cost savings
• Uniform lighting control standards in all new facilities
• Hands-off automated lighting program reduces staff interaction
• High-bay warehouse lighting was changed from metal-halide fixtures to motion sensor-controlled high-bay fluorescent fixtures
• Energy usage monitored helps future decision making
• 1- to 2-year payback on technology investment.

The new system is set to automatically stage lighting prior to openning time, to begin turning lights off at closing time, and to reduce lighting load to 50% during night time hours. Each store’s Powerlink Intelligent Lighting Control panelboard has a master controller that is Ethernet connected to Cabela’s corporate facilities staff allowing easy changes to store lighting schedules.

Johnson Controls teaches university how to save $1.7 million annually

Colleges and universities are eagerly embracing green savings. A great example is the multi-year project implemented by the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Johnson Controls is overseeing a broad energy and operations facilities upgrade that when completed is projected to save the University $1.7 million each year. Central to the program are lighting upgrades to a number of the oldest and highest energy consuming buildings on the U of M campus.

The Columbia Lighting division of Hubbell Lighting got the opportunity to test five energy-efficient e-poc full distribution lighting fixtures using T8 lamps and ballast efficiencies in the Universities’ facility. Following testing and evaluation, the e-poc luminare was approved for implementation due to its energy savings of 29% for the T5 configuration and 21-34% T8 savings over traditional 3-lamp parabolics.

Upon completion, nearly 12,000 2-lamp 2 X 2 T8 fixtures will have been replaced by 6,600 e-poc 2-lamp energy saving luminaires. The University of Maryland will realize energy savings of 1,391,400 kWh per year and energy cost savings of over $153,000 each year.   

Despite many media reports that have complained about a perceived lack of economic impact attributable to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding, there seems to be a growing list of construction projects that reflect measurable proof to the contrary.

One of these projects is taking shape in my own backyard. Beginning this August, Brookhaven National Laboratory begins building a new $66.8-million energy research facility here in Upton, Long Island. The project, funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, received $18.6 million in ARRA funding to help speed the initial construction phase.

The new laboratory, which is designed to be highly energy efficient and sustainable, will attempt to be rated gold by the LEED® building certification system. The 87,000-square-foot two-story Interdisciplinary Science Building will support research to develop renewable energy via solar energy, biofuels and superconductivity. Its construction is estimated to produce approximately 300 construction jobs while pumping over $40 million into the local economy.

This is a prime example of our government’s investment in America’s growing green energy economy.

Here’s more green good news…

• A July report released by REN21, or the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21^st Century, indicated that more than 50% of all new electricity generation capacity added in 2009 by the U.S. and Europe was from renewable power technologies including wind and solar. REN21, an energy support organization backed by the United Nations and the International Energy Agency, said last year was also a record year for the most new green energy that was added to the power grid. It was notable that of the total 80 gigawatts of new renewable global power capacity, 37 GW was added by China – more than any other country. 
  
  
• Retailers continue to embrace the financial, performance and environmental benefits of energy-efficient upgrades of both lighting and lighting controls. In an article by Nick Hodge published July 21st, www.EnergyandCapital.com reported some very impressive green results for retail giant Kohl’s. Hodge’s comments were meant to dispel the lingering myth that going green is an expensive option. Using Kohl’s commitment to energy efficiency and the retailer’s results, Hodge makes a clear case for the economics of saving energy making some impressive points:

-- Kohl’s reports to have saved $50 million by converting 500 stores to Energy Star buildings;

-- Kohl’s is the second largest purchaser of renewable energy in the U.S. covering 100% of the company’s needs;

-- The company has 88 solar installations making it the biggest retail user of solar in North America;

-- It’s built 45 LEED certified green buildings and has committed to constructing future facilities as LEED buildings;

-- All stores have been retrofitted with building automation controls systems, with all 75W incandescent lamps replaced with 24W metal halide lamps.

As impressive as all those green actions are, Hodge points out repeatedly that in every case Kohl’s has saved money. To make his point, Hodge asks, “If clean options are so expensive and job-killing and GDP damning and economy-crushing… Why has a retail chain with a $14 billion market cap that has to answer to shareholders thoroughly embraced it?”

Hodge’s punch line about the value of going green makes total sense.

“Because as it turns out, it’s not expensive,” he says. “It actually reduces operating costs and creates an economic edge over the completion.”    

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%.