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.

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℠.

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)

Something like this could be done for your company as well. Please contact us to see how.