Maines Slashes Lighting Energy Use 87%

by | Aug 25, 2010

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Maines Paper & Food Service has cut its lighting-related energy use by 87 percent thanks to the installation of Digital Lumens’ Intelligent Lighting System in its 460,000-square-foot headquarters in Conklin, New York. The retrofit also improves lighting levels and helps the company meets is corporate sustainability targets.

With the retrofit, Maines expects to save 1,726,108 kWh of electricity per year and prevent 1,240 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

After an evaluation of lighting alternatives including fluorescents and LEDs with the help of its energy-efficiency partner Groom Energy Solutions, Maines selected the Digital Lumens solution, which combines LED-based fixtures, networking and software, as a one-for-one retrofit of highbay warehouse lights.

Digital Lumens says its Intelligent Lighting system maximizes energy efficiency by integrating LEDs, sensing, system-based intelligence and networking into a single system to achieve results not possible with LEDs alone.

In addition, Maines can track energy usage and occupancy on a fixture-by-fixture basis, enabling them to finetune the light program to maximize efficiency. The system also creates a lighting network inside the facility, which provides opportunities for future capabilities and/or measuring and monitoring other aspects of the facility, says the company.

Groom Energy installed the lighting upgrade project and replaced Maines’ existing 400-watt, high-pressure sodium fixtures, reducing both energy use and ongoing maintenance.

“Lighting represents about 20 percent of our warehouse electricity costs, and a great opportunity to reduce our facilities’ costs and improve operational efficiency,” said Pat DeOrdio, vice president of operations, Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc.

“We evaluated the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System and found that it enables us to significantly reduce our energy consumption, improve overall safety by increasing light levels and decrease maintenance. This solution delivers numerous operational and environmental benefits, and positions us to better serve our customers’ needs,” he added.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided the project incentive. NYSERDA’s goal is to help New York reduce energy consumption, promote the use of renewable energy sources and protect the environment.

Other recent projects that NYSERDA has provided funding or incentives for include recent HVAC upgrades at six New York State commercial facilities, which together will cut their energy consumption by more than 9.9 million kWH annually, a new energy-efficient grocery store, and a medical center.

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