Metal-halide light fixtures are expensive, especially when they number in the hundreds. Just ask Pete Renzi, director of operations at I.G. Burton. The car dealership has used the lights at each of its five downstate locations, illuminating the expansive lots from twilight through morning to showcase new cars and thwart nighttime ne’er-do-wells.
But this spring, Renzi’s team swapped 100 of the 1,000-watt fixtures for 200-watt LED fixtures at one of their dealerships in Milford – part of an incentive offered by the state-run Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF). The fund offers a variety of programs for businesses looking to decrease operating costs and energy consumption.
The result is a whopping reduction of $3,500 in the company’s monthly electric bill, according to Renzi, who was given a $300 credit from EEIF toward replacement of each fixture with the $1,000 LED equivalent – a $100,000 project.
“The math worked,” said Renzi. “In 18 months it paid for the project.”
Nonprofits, schools and businesses like the I.G. Burton dealerships are moving forward with green initiatives at the workplace, expanding from small office space recycling efforts to bigger projects, thanks to incentives offered by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility.
$2.7 million in investments
In the last 12 months, EEIF has funded 304 Delaware commercial and industrial-based projects totaling $2.7 million, according to Philip Cherry, director of the Delaware Division of Energy & Climate at DNREC, the agency that oversees the EEIF program. Only those who pay the Public Utility Tax are eligible for the program.
Cherry said the first-year energy savings of EEIF initiatives translates to 17,975,417 kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoiding over 13,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“I think it pays to be green if you do the right things,” said Cherry. “I think businesses get that providing it helps them with their bottom line.”
But before a business like I.G. Burton celebrates the bottom line savings, it must lay out money for the capital improvements, or secure rebates and loans that take the sting out of the
hefty price tag.
In addition to lighting and lighting control improvements, the EEIF offers incentives to install high efficiency natural gas heating and water heating equipment, vending improvements as well as energy assessments and custom incentives for special projects.
For business executives like Renzi, the altruistic motives of sustainability and reduction in carbon footprint run second to affordability and long-term savings.
Renzi said a metal-halide light fixture lasts about 14 months at about $65 each. The LED light will last seven to eight years, saving thousands in maintenance costs. Renzi said he hopes to apply for the same program under EEIF to change the lights at I.G. Burton’s other locations.
“I’m going to save money on my electric bill and maintenance,” said Renzi. “But it’s also good for the environment. I’m reducing amount of electric that I’m burning.”
Cherry said that lighting retrofits offer the greatest and fastest return on investment and it’s one of the most popular programs offered under EEIF.
At Rehoboth Beach Country Club, return on investment drove the effort when General Manager Jim Killion began looking for ways to cut costs and reduce energy output. He said the club isn’t a candidate for solar panels, but changing light fixtures in its 43,000-square-foot clubhouse was a good start.
“We changed the majority of incandescent light bulbs to LEDs, and the state offered rebates for doing that,” said Killion. “These [LED] bulbs use 10 percent of the energy of the incandescent bulb.”
Killion said his team replaced 976 light bulbs across the property this year, including the golf shop.
“It looks like we are on track to save about 20 percent on our electricity this year,” said Killion. “Keep in mind that we are a heavy-electric user. The carts and irrigation alone use a significant amount of our total electricity.”
In addition, Killion said employees used to replace seven to 10 bulbs each week; they haven’t replaced any since they switched in January under an EEIF rebate.
As a state employee who heads the energy and climate division, Cherry said he believes green is “gold” – fitting for a department whose home base was one of the first fully LEED-certified buildings the state. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system that measures the design, construction and operation in so-called “green” projects.
To date, 95 buildings in Delaware meet various LEED standards or are fully LEED certified.
In the meantime, some funding remains from the original $3 million appropriated for the EEIF incentives last year. Cherry said the program received no additional funding this year.
“It was a tight year and we’re hopeful that our current funding reserves can make it through FY ’16, at which point we’ll need more funds to keep the program operational.”
Cost-effectiveness, sustainability and reliability drive customer sentiment, according to Bloom Energy’s Asim Hussain, vice president for marketing and customer experience.
“In general these are very exciting times both for clean energy technologies and customers,” said Hussain, who said inbound interest in Bloom’s fuel-to-energy technology shows that commercial customers feel empowered to make choices.
JPMorgan Chase remains the first commercial customer of the company after installing two energy servers at its Christiana campus last year ““ a 500-kilowatt system.
