Small Businesses Can Benefit From Lighting Retrofits Too

August 21, 2009

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The example of a Pennsylvania pet store saving $200,000 over 25 years after a lighting retrofit is ample evidence that not only major facilities can reap the rewards of lighting retrofits.

Braxton’s Pet Works in Wayne, Pa., installed LED lights and expects to save more than $9,000 a year, after state and federal rebates, according to Greenandsave.

The project should cut electricity consumed by lighting at the 70-year-old pet store by 85 percent. LED Saving Solutions is installing the lights.

While costly, LED bulbs long outshine their competition.

For instance, GE’s R30 bulb is rated for 20,000 hours, or up to 10 times longer than standard lights. But the bulb costs $60, reports the Forth Worth Star Telegram.

As more businesses adopt LED lighting, the costs will come down significantly, said Chuck Swoboda, Chief Executive Officer of LED lighting firm Cree Inc., Durham, N.C.

Once the initial installment costs come down, with the energy savings factored in, adopting LEDs will be extremely attractive for businesses, Swoboda said, in an article in the Monterey Herald.

Lighting accounts for about 22 percent of electricity used in the United States, according to the Herald.

But the Department of Energy has stated that a conversion to solid-state lighting like LEDs could reduce energy use for lighting 33 percent by 2030, or the same amount of electricity generated by 40 1,000 megawatt plants. Across the board, that would amount to $30 billion in savings.

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