Henry Ford (yes … that Ford) said over 80 years ago in his book “Today and Tomorrow” (1926) that “…we will not so lightly waste material simply because we can reclaim it— for salvage involves labour. The ideal is to have nothing to salvage.”
If you haven’t updated your lighting recently, you are wasting material – namely dollars. You can calculate how much with our energy savings calculator.
According to Context Marketing and Noesis Research’s recent study, “Brand Virtue as a Competitive Asset,” three out of four consumers report they are willing to pay more for brands they see as behaving responsibly. Of those willing to pay more, around 40 percent said they would pay as much as 10 percent more, and another 30 percent say they are willing to pay a premium higher than 10 percent. Bob Kenney, Context Marketing principal commented “Today`s consumers increasingly expect brands and companies to help change the world, even if only in small ways.”
One of the easiest and most cost-effective routes to social responsibility is updating out-of-date lighting systems. According to the Energy Cost Savings Council, energy–efficient lighting projects pay for themselves in just 2.2 years and generate an average 45% return on investment. Yet, 80% of existing commercial buildings operate lighting systems installed before 1986. And now it’s been documented that sales will increase, too.
Interested in increasing sales by updating out-of-date lighting, read our lighting retrofit guidelines.
Also, a complete copy of the study, “Brand Virtue as a Competitive Asset,” is available at www.contextmarketing.com.
Facilitiesnet.com reports that many companies, schools and developers literally greet occupants with energy savings statistics. In-lobby dashboards hooked to building metering systems show real-time energy and carbon emissions data. The dashboards also show energy saved by particular energy efficiency technologies like a lighting upgrade. The information is just as simple to include on website for remote users (customers, shareholders, press, etc ) to see what exactly is going on at a building at any given time.
We all know energy savings is too important to postpone. Or keep a secret.
The Aelux team prides ourselves on staying up-to-date on relevant energy savings information and financing options. Today, our field services agent Steve Hinkle enlightened us as to how many solar panels it would take to power the world. Hint: Less than the surface of Spain.
More info at Gizmodo.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that lighting represents 40% of the average commercial building’s electric bill, followed by motors/HVAC (40%) and other equipment (20%). And, the Energy Cost Savings Council, reports that energy–efficient lighting projects generate an average 45% return on investment, paying for themselves in just 2.2 years. Yet, 80% of existing commercial buildings operate lighting systems installed before 1986.
To combat the country’s ongoing energy issues, Congress passed The Energy Policy Act of 2005, commonly referred to as EPACT. EPACT contains the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction, which allows deducting the cost of new lighting systems completed before January 1, 2014 in a single tax year instead of amortized over a period of years.
The Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction also includes the Interim Lighting Rule that allows deducting non–warehouse indoor lighting at between $0.30 and $0.60/sq.ft on a sliding scale based on a 25–40% reduction below the maximum allowable lighting power density (W/sq/ft.). In warehouses, the indoor lighting is required to achieve a 50% reduction in lighting power density to obtain the maximum deduction of $0.60/sq.ft. The Interim Lighting Rule also includes additional control and switching requirements. Any cost over the legislated caps is deducted on normal, non–accelerated schedules.
To obtain the deductions, lighting projects must be meet the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Energy Savings Modeling and Inspection Guidelines. Aelux regularly qualifies lighting upgrades for EPACT deductions. Additional information and assistance is available from any Aelux team member.
[Information for this post was obtained from LightingTaxDeduction.org and AboutLightingControls.org]