Limited Brands Lighting Retrofit Cuts Warehouse Energy 50%

June 16, 2009

Email this story Print this post Add your comments

Through an extensive lighting retrofit, Limited Brands Inc. has cut its energy consumption by 50 percent in five distribution centers at its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. By installing energy-efficient lighting, the company expects to save about $775,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs across 3.5-million-square feet of facilities.

The company says the cost-saving calculations for the new lighting ($650,000) were based on an audit of existing equipment, the published input wattages, an agreed upon kWh rate and operating hours of both the before and after lighting products. Maintenance savings ($125,000) for the lamp and ballast replacements are based on the published, anticipated failure of the existing system and operating hours.

In addition to the cost savings, the new lighting dramatically increases light levels, making some areas of the facilities up to four times brighter, says Limited Brands.

For the retrofit, Limited Brands used energy-efficient lighting from GE Consumer & Industrial. These include the GE T5 High-Output Starcoat Ecolux lamps, TCLP-compliant 2-foot and 3-foot T8 Watt-Miser lamps (both 28 and 23 watts), and GE UltramaxT T8 Ballasts. For additional savings, the fixtures are equipped with motion sensors, so the lamps only operate when there is activity in the area.

According to a recent study, occupancy sensors were recommended for installation in 55 percent of applications among new building projects surveyed in the past two years.

Email this story Print this post Add your comments