In October 2008, Act 129 was passed to curtail energy demand, create jobs and reduce pollution in Pennsylvania. The Act required Pennsylvania electric utilities to reduce their electricity load by 1 percent by May 31, 2011 and by 3 percent by May 31, 2012. Utilities are also required to reduce their peak electricity demand by 4.5 percent by providing their customers with energy-efficiency and conservation programs.

PennFuture’s study, conducted by Optimal Energy, analyzed the Act’s results through May 31, 2011. This study concluded that Pennsylvania’s electricity load was reduced by 2,073 gigawatt hours (GWh), which equals over $278 million in annual savings for electric customers that participated in Act 129 programs.

The first year of Act 129 also created an estimated 4,000 job years (job years are measured as one full-time job for one year) and eliminated approximately 23 million tons of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of the installed energy efficiency measures. The Act’s first year in energy savings is also equivalent to taking four million cars off of the road for one year.

If the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission decides that Act 129 has been successful, they have until November 30, 2013 to extend the program and set new savings goals for Pennsylvania electric utilities. According to the study by Optimal, Pennsylvania has the opportunity to reduce its energy by 31,500 GWh by continuing the energy efficiency Act 129.

Aelux has participated in the completion of several energy efficient lighting retrofit projects at Pennsylvania businesses served by participating Act 129 utility companies such as Duquesne, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, PECO, PPL and West Penn. Pennsylvania utility rebates are still available for lighting retrofit energy efficiency projects. To find out how Act 129 can benefit your company and reduce electricity costs with a lighting retrofit, fill out our contact form and an Aelux team member will respond as soon as possible.

To view the complete press release regarding the Penn Future study, click here.

Under the new voluntary commitment, effective October 4, 2010, NEMA members will cap the total mercury content in CFLs of less than 25 watts at 4mg (milligrams) per lamp. The total mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 5mg per lamp.

This agreement builds upon the companies’ March 2007 voluntary commitment and is consistent with NEMA’s initiative to reduce use of hazardous substances whenever feasible.

“NEMA lamp companies acknowledge the importance of reducing mercury content of fluorescent lamps while continuing to achieve the high performance and quality consumers expect,” said NEMA Lamp Section Chair Pam Horner. “NEMA’s update of the voluntary commitment today is made possible by research and engineering innovation in the lamp industry.”

While these lighting innovation initiatives are just reaching the residential market, trace mercury fluorescent lamps have been available for some time now for use in commercial applications.  Previously in commercial applications we saw the use of metal halides, HID fixtures, and T12 lamps, but we are seeing a phase out of these fixtures as they are both inefficiency and contain higher mercury levels, with levels as high as 10mg per lamp. While metal halides may be suitable in some commercial applications, such as outdoor lighting, there are certainly more energy efficient alternatives available for indoor commercial and warehouse settings that are designed specifically for use in retail, property management, commercial, and industrial segments.

The most commonly used lamps in lighting retrofits are T8 & T5 linear fluorescent lamps, which are highly efficiency, TCLP-compliant, and at the highest have 5mg of mercury and at the lowest 1.4mg.   Many manufacturers offer low mercury T8 lamps that contain approximately 3.5 mg per lamp, and some even offer an extra low mercury T8 lamps with less than 1.7 mg of mercury per lamp.  Newly designed T5 lamps are also more versatile, offering increased lighting flexibility, especially in tight spaces and low profile applications.

All the more reason to retrofit your existing lighting system: energy efficiency, better lighting, safer, and more environmentally friendly

TCLP stands for Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. Fluorescent bulbs that are TCLP compliant reduce the amount of pollutants released into the environment. Mercury’s greatest threat comes when it is vaporized and can be inhaled, like when a bulb containing mercury is broken, shatters or ruptures in your place of business. Lamps with reduced mercury content pass the EPA’s TCLP tests, and pose less danger to the environment, your employees and your patrons in the event of breakage.

(Sources: NEMA & http://www.zeromercury.org/)

This year the International Energy Agency classified onshore wind as “potentially cost-competitive” with fossil fuels for the first time.” (Source) Yet, we must consider local factors.

Will investing in turbine energy pay-off? Furthermore, could we avoid having giant windmills outside our front door if each one of us was to be more energy conscious? Maybe it can start with changing current lighting systems, rearranging lights where we need them most, and using them only when we need them. Cost-benefit analysis…the simplicity of a lighting retrofit could save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Rebates & Incentives offered in Maryland

• Corporate Tax Credit
• PACE Financing
• Utility Rebate Program

Baltimore Gas & Electric states, “Our energy efficiency programs provide financial incentives and engineering services for projects that involve retrofitting existing inefficient equipment, new construction, major renovation/remodeling…”

When rebates are available, on average, 22% of project costs are covered by utility rebates.  Historically, BGE incentives on Aelux projects have been above the national average.  Contact Aelux, a BGE Trade Professional Alliance partner today to find out if your company is eligible for participation in programs like BGE’s Smart Energy Savers Program℠.

Have you made a difference personally in helping your community and/or business on making the world a more efficient place to live?  We’re four months away from the year 2011, make your goals today!  Are you working for a company that could be more “green / more efficient”? If you are not sure, researching and speaking out are the first steps.

For information on how companies, such as Aelux, LLC can help you, please visit www.aelux.com or call toll free to speak with an Aelux Representative 866-44-AELUX today.

Still hesitate to make the plunge to energy efficiency…read about how Aelux saved Motorola an annual energy savings of $70,954.

You may be surprised to learn that Food Sales, Food Services, Health Care, Offices and Lodging Facilities all consumer more electricity than the average commercial building. (http://www.eia.doe.gov)

A lighting retrofit can certainly help to plug this drain.  Read how a leading branded food company gained an annual energy savings of $10,633 and reduced their carbon footprint by 82 tons with a warehouse lighting retrofit.

Thinking you are in the clear if you consume less than the average commercial building – that may not be the case.

energy use for educational facilities

For example, while education facilities consumer less electricity than the average commercial building, lighting accounts for the majority of their electricity use.  There is a lot of money to be saved on lighting cost for any facility – just one reason why your business should consider a lighting audit.  Worried about cost – there are many rebates, grants and other incentives to help, and many lighting retrofit projects can be initiated with little or no money down.

A lighting audit is a great way to put your sustainability plan into action.  You will save money and often increase productivity as you create a more comfortable workplace for your employees.

Read more about starting with a professional lighting audit.   

Many of us feel caught up in the current economic uncertainty. It is pleasant to remember better days when the economy was thriving and corporate resources were being invested in robust expansion. Now those expansions are getting older.  Many of the commercial buildings in use today were built pre-1980.  At the time they were built few people were thinking about energy costs and the environmental imperative of “going green”. Truthfully, most of us were lusting after the biggest V8s we could afford.
How times have changed – hybrid cars, the whole idea of less is more, recycled everything – but what about these buildings?  They were built to last; but not to be efficient.

So what can we expect for today and beyond?

Even as economic conditions improve, today’s executive will be cautious about expansion, especially expansion into more bricks and mortar. They will look to their current buildings and demand ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs. They are conscious of being good corporate citizens and are profit motivated managers.

What is the best way to modernize these buildings, and what will drive the decision-making?

Certainly energy is going to be a key driver.  According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), lighting represents 40% of the average commercial building’s electric bill, and an expensive component considering the average commercial retail cost of electricity rose nearly 25% over the past five years to $0.1013/kWh as of November 2008.  And according to the Energy Cost Savings Council, lighting upgrades generate an average project payback period of 2.2 years and a 45% return on investment. [New energy estimates indicate continued increases in energy costs, with electric costs rising 10% to 30% in the next 3 to 5 years]

As a result, energy-efficient lighting is generally considered the easiest, most profitable investment in energy saving building systems.  Even so, less than 20% of the existing pre-1980 U.S. Commercial building stock has benefited from some form of lighting renovation, according to the 2003 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey produced by DOE.  The survey found that there were 4.6 million commercial buildings (excluding malls) in the U.S., representing about 65 billion sq. ft. of floor space.  About 2.5 million buildings, representing 60% of buildings and 57% of floor space, were built before 1980.  Of these, about a million have benefited from some form of renovation.

Of the 1 million that were renovated, was energy efficient lighting a part of the upgrade?

Unfortunately not – Lighting renovations, while a popular form of renovation, have occurred in only 18% of pre-1980 buildings, suggesting that there are about 25 billion sq ft of building floor space still lighted to pre-1980 standards and likely using the least-efficient lighting systems allowed by law.  The rest represent today’s best candidates for lighting upgrades.

Lighting efficiency has the potential to be a “winner” in today’s economy.  Not only is operating cost savings via lighting efficiency a door opener, but imagine the greater worker satisfaction with a quality lighting design – it can certainly be a ladder that escalates performance on any projects.

Are you wondering if your commercial building is a good candidate for a lighting retrofit?  Contact an Aelux Lighting Consultant today to have your questions answered and learn more about lighting rebates.

(Source: Illuminate Magazine)

Generally speaking this is often overlooked, but in light of the recent rate increases in Pennsylvania this is now taking a priority for many businesses.

Many citizens and businesses in Pennsylvania were greeted with a dramatic electric rate increase. The problem is that this rate increase comes at a time of fairly extreme economic difficulties for many companies. .

So what’s the solution?

As noted above, an overlooked part of the electric bill (and fairly expensive one) is warehouse lighting. In recent years there has been more and more advanced technology regarding lighting, and to make this more attractive there are currently many tax benefits and a cost reduction program that come from the power company themselves.

In a nutshell a significant part of the cost of upgrading to energy efficient lighting for your warehouse may be offset by these programs.

Aelux can assist you though the entire process and reduce your electric bills by taking advantage of the existing programs. You really have nothing to lose by exploring this option.

The alternative of course is to continue to pay the huge increase from the electric companies with no reduction in power usage to offset the increased rates.

It’s typically a pretty clear cut option, see what a firm like Aelux can do for you and your company. If the solution presented will reduce your monthly power bill, and due to the tax benefits and financial assistance from the power companies reduce your total cost, then clearly it’s something that your company needs to explore.

Lighting retrofits epitomize this scenario. These projects can help facilities reduce energy use and create more efficient and aesthetically pleasing indoor environments, but only if planners base their decisions on accurate information. Companies often view lighting-upgrade projects as a revenue drain, when in fact they represent a positive cash flow that renews itself year after year. They tend to get focused on one solution, like a lamp and ballast retrofit, which limits the options and opportunities.

Aelux ensures that you will make an informed decision based on a comprehensive analysis including a proposal that clearly defines why a particular retrofit recommendation was made and a photometric analysis to substantiate the retrofit recommendation. Also expect to see what the energy and cost savings will be, and what rebate and tax incentives are available. Additional detail should include an explanation of tax benefits, fixture and component spec sheets, warranty information, environmental benefits and a transparent description of model inputs.

Understanding Energy Consumption:

Utilities bill their customers in several ways including an energy use charge, demand charge, power factor charge, fuel adjustment charge and other charges. Here is a look at Energy Consumption:

Energy Consumption (kWh) = Input Watts (kW) x Time (hours operated in a given year)

To reduce energy consumption we can do two things. Reduce the input wattage or reduce the hours of operation. Input wattage can be reduced by replacing lamps and ballasts with more-energy-efficient counterparts or by removing lamps and ballasts. The hours of operation can be reduced by using sophisticated controls and other methods.