Big Savings for a Big Distributor

As the largest major appliance distributor in the U.S., the Almo Corporation has continually been a pioneer in cutting edge IT services and logistical support for their national dealer base. Their standards were the same when they sought a lighting service partner to reduce operating costs at their Philadelphia, PA headquarters.

CHALLENGE

As with many distribution centers, Almo’s pre-retrofit lighting configuration failed to correspond well to the racked aisle layout. Entire aisles had metal halide fixtures hanging directly above product instead of providing adequate light levels where needed, in the aisles. Other aisles were significantly over-lit.

Many lighting consultants streamline retrofits by just updating the current lighting configuration with more current, efficient fixtures. Aelux recognized the dire need to completely redesign the facility lighting configuration without incurring such a cost that the payback would be unattainable, even with substantial energy savings.

SOLUTION

Aelux developed a number of redesign scenarios based on a substantial number of photometric analyses. The solution they ultimately installed:

• reduced system wattage by a staggering 72%
• reduced the total number of fixtures by 50%
• provided for every light level to exceed IESNA recommendations for warehousing

Almo’s savings didn’t stop with their energy savings. The facility management was even more impressed with the reduction in maintenance expense that accompanied the dramatic reduction in fixtures.