A decade or so ago, the term going green was more “greenwash” or marketing speak than anything.
Many green solutions had heavy upfront costs, and the savings generated from going green took a great deal longer to pay for the original investment. Yes, large corporations in giant facilities with big budgets could get LEED Gold certified and reap savings due to scale, but for most businesses, implementing true energy efficiency upgrades or retrofits was too expensive and thus became a marketing differentiator more than a reliable savings generator.
Going green has come a long way from its early days. Today, with improved smart building science, sustainable construction best practices, more efficient materials, stronger engineering, and a better and faster return-on-investment, energy efficiency and its generated savings are within the grasp of almost every business, from corporate conglomerates to smaller local offices.
Whether you’re investing in a large-scale energy efficiency project or looking for simple, practical fixes that yield savings, your bottom line is sure to benefit from even the most basic energy efficiency improvements.
Let’s take a look at one of the energy upgrades you can make that will likely yield the best bang for your buck: Lighting upgrades. A host of lighting upgrades can be made in your facility, both interior and exterior that will help improve your bottom line.
According to Facility Executive, “…in a typical office building, lighting accounts for 30% of the energy usage—the largest single category of controllable energy costs. The result? [More than] $115 billion in electric utility spending per year—a staggering number for those facility managers…and executives who need to find ways to help make their buildings more energy efficient and cut costs at the same time.”
In a recent case study published by Current, Transwestern engaged in a lighting retrofit project on its 12-story, multi-tenant building in downtown Washington, D.C. The result was the installation of 3,400 new, energy efficient lights on the interior and a parking garage that saved $20,000 in maintenance costs and $155,000 in annual savings. The project will pay for itself in one year, according to the case study.
Now, the scale of that project is very large, but even small-scale changes can yield significant savings for a facility. Here are the areas where you’ll see the most savings when you upgrade your commercial lighting to LED or other energy efficient lighting products:
- Utility Bills. This is the most obvious place a building can save on costs. According to Silvie Casanov, senior manager of lighting communications at Philips Lighting North America, “With 75 percent of all commercial buildings using outdated technology, the potential for energy efficiency and cost savings with lighting upgrades can be significant. Upgrades typically can save between 40 and 60 percent on energy costs, leading to a fast ROI just by switching to the technologies available today…” (Source: facilitiesnet).
Savings 40 to 60 percent on your building’s energy bill can go a long way to improving your bottom line and funding other areas of need.
- Maintenance. If you’re one of the 75 percent of buildings with outdated lighting, you can save big by installing longer lasting, energy efficient LEDs and other newer lighting technologies.
An old-school incandescent light bulb lasts about 1,000 to 1,200 hours. An LED light lasts between 50,000 to 100,000 hours. If you compare any new lighting technology to its old-school counterpart, you’ll note the exponential difference in lifespan, which means less replacement and repair costs for your building.
Now, all savings are relative; you might see smaller savings for a smaller building while a huge facility will generate a larger, sometimes jaw-dropping number. However, put in the context of operational costs for each, the relative savings are still significant.
- Recycling. Although most estimates attribute only about 1 percent of total lighting costs to recycling lighting with hazardous materials (mercury in fluorescent lights, for example), this can be a solid source of savings, particularly for large facilities. In addition, replacing outdated lighting with newer technology can save your maintenance team time by making the recycling process less frequent and simpler.
- Industry incentives and tax credits. Conducting an energy efficient lighting retrofit or upgrade will have some upfront cost for purchasing materials and installation. However, some of this cost can be offset by applying for industry incentives and federal government tax credits. You can learn more about these opportunities here.
The single biggest bottom line difference maker when it comes to energy-efficient lighting is energy bill savings. That money, in addition to reduced maintenance costs, less frequent recycling, and reimbursements through incentives and tax credits adds up to significant help for your bottom line.
From a simple swap out of old-school light bulbs for LEDs to more complex energy retrofits, smart building upgrades, and sustainable construction projects, reinventing or constructing buildings to be more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and healthier for staff has never made more sense from a cost-benefit standpoint than it does today.
For help with energy efficiency and sustainable construction projects or to explore some options, reach out to us. We’d love to hear more about your ideas and see if we can lend our expertise to help.