Ware County School System Upgrades Lighting to LED Tube Lights

According to a new research study, energy costs K-12 schools $6 billion annually in energy costs. Reducing energy costs allows schools to focus their funding on needed energy programs. This is just what Ware Coutnty School District did.The Ware County School system, located in Waycross Georgia, recently completed the largest known K-12 grade public school lighting retrofit program.The Ware County School District encompasses ten individual schools, Pre-K through 12th grade, that serve more than 5,000 students. 

The investment in LED lighting will save the school district more than $10 million dollars over the next nine years.They upgraded 24,000 lighting fixtures to more energy efficient LED Tube lights from RedBird LED. RedBird LED is an Atlanta based LED lighting designer and manufacturer of high quality LED Tube lights. The school system conducted a six-month pilot program incorporating LED tube lighting in several conference rooms prior to reaching an agreement to install LED lights throughout the system. 

“The money we save with maintenance and reduced energy costs can be applied to continual improvement of the quality of education we provide to our students as well as benefit the taxpayers who support our system,’’ said School Superintendent Joseph C. Barrow.

The RedBird Cardinal LED Tube lights have an anticipated lifetime capacity of 15 to 20 years. “The money we save with maintenance and reduced energy costs can be applied to continual improvement of the quality of education we provide to our students as well as benefit the taxpayers who support our system,’’ Barrow said. Cardinal LED lighting provide one of the highest lumens/dollar and lumens/watt of any LED lighting fixture. The Cardinal LED tubes are a direct mechanical fit into standard fixtures, operating on any voltage ranging from 110 to 277 VAC, and do not require the fluorescent ballast. Cardinal LED Tube lights deliver 7,000 lumens of light, yet only draw 66 watts.

” RedBird LED is pleased that our Cardinal™ LED tube light has been selected for the major energy reduction project underway for the Ware County Schools,” said Jonathan Eppstein, President of RedBird LED. “Working closely with Etrenzik and IP-Utilinet, we were able to put together a system that offers state of the art performance and will save the district millions in their electricity bills over the next 10 years.”

Hospitals Using More LED Tube Lights- Even at Mount Everest

Hospitals have discovered that lighting is an important aspect of improving patient safety and a significant expense item. Imagine trying to cost-effectively replicate the conditions of a hospital  intensive care unit at 17,500 feet elevation on the world’s largest mountain. This is what the team of Xtreme Everest 2 recently accomplished. Xtreme Everest 2, is a dedicated team of intensive care doctors, nurses and scientists that are studying health problems in hospital intensive care units.

 On March 10th,they installed LED Tube lighting in their laboratory, operating room and patient areas. They selected Cardinal LED lighting from RedBird LED, a leading manufacturer of LED Linear Replacement Lamps. The Xtreme Everest 2 location at the Mt. Everest High Base Camp required rugged, energy efficient lighting that could perform well in extremely cold temperatures. The solution was RedBird Cardinal Vapor tight LED Luminaires, PG3-66W-50K-132.

 Jonathan Eppstein, RedBird ’ s President says, ” We ’ re pleased to have been selected to light this important facility. The research being done by this dedicated team will have a huge impact on treating a wide array of medical conditions. Our LED lights, with their high CRI and low energy use fit the bill perfectly for this application. While we in the US may think our energy rates are high, just imagine what the cost of electricity is at the Everest High Base Camp, where generators running on gasoline flown in by helicopter provide all the power. ”

They provide one of the highest lumens/dollar and lumens/watt of any LED lighting fixture. The Cardinal LED tubes are a direct mechanical fit into standard fixtures, operating on any voltage ranging from 110 to 277 VAC, and do not require the fluorescent ballast. Cardinal LED Tube lights deliver 7,000 lumens of light, yet only draw 66 watts.

IES Progress Report Selects LED Tubes from RedBird LED

The Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacement Lamps have been selected by the IES for inclusion in the prestigious Illuminating Engineering Society(IES) 2012 Progress Report. The Progress Report award will be presented to RedBird LED this month at the Annual IES Conference in Minneapolis.All IES Progress Report award winners will be profiled in a special supplement in the January issue of LD+A magazine.


The Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacement Lamps have also been recently certified by the DesignLights Consortium. These products are the only LED tube lights in the world to receive DLC Certification in the Linear Replacement Lamp category and are current listed on the DLC’s Qualified Product List. The DLC membership includes some of the largest utility companies in the United States.

Jonathan Eppstein, President of RedBird LED commented, “We are very excited and honored to be selected by the IES Progress Report Committee for the 2012 IES Progress Report. This prestigious award and the DLC certification are continued validation of the technical design and market leading performance our Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacement Lamps deliver. The award certainly solidifies our position as the quality and performance leader in this sector of the LED lighting industry.”

For more information about RedBird LED please visit www.redbirdled.com

LED Tube Light Retrofit Project Saves $ 30,000 Per Year

The potential energy savings from an LED Lighting retrofit can be substantial. In many projects that energy savings can range between 35-60%. The biggest hurdle is financing of the upfront costs of replacing less energy efficient lighting with LED Lighting. There are numerous financing and rebate programs offered through local utility companies. A number of utility companies, including Con Edison, are members of the DesignLights Consortium. The DesignLights Consortium publishes a list of qualified LED lighting products that member firms will include in their lighting rebate programs.

Davis & Warshow, a dealer of luxury kitchen and bath fixtures and plumbing materials recently completed a complete LED Tube lightingretrofit at their 209,000-square-foot distribution center in Queens, New York. The LED lighting retrofit project involved replacing outdated fluorescent lighting to more energy efficient LED tube lighting. The company claims this is one of largest single facility LED Tube light installation projects in the country.

The reported company investment in the LED Tube Lighting retrofit was more than $250,000. While this was a large expense for the company the program reduces the annual lighting energy expense from $50,000 to $ 20,000. In addition the company received a rebate check from local utility, Com Ed of $ 63,704. According to Davis & Warshow president David Finkel, "The amount represented rebates we earned for the lighting conversion based on annual kWh saved using the made-in-America fixtures," he said.  "Moreover, in five years’ time our investment will have paid for itself, with the rebates we've earned and the overall energy savings."

"We are pleased to support Davis & Warshow's efforts to make their business more sustainable," said David Pospisil, program manager of the Con Edison's Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs who presented the five-figure rebate. "Con Edison's incentives and rebates help businesses like Davis & Warshow make smart investments to improve the energy and environmental performance of their buildings."

If your lighting project includes four foot LED Tube Light , the DLC only lists one LED Tube Manufacturer that meets their new strict criteria- RedBird LED based in Atlanta, GA. For more information on their Cardinal Linear LED Tube Replacement light please visit www.redbirdled.com

John Gilmore Joins RedBird LED as Vice President of Sales

Redbird LED is pleased to announce that LED lighting industry veteran John Gilmore has joined their sales and management team as the new Vice President of Sales. Redbird LED is an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of premium energy efficient LED Linear Replacement Lamp products. Previously, John Gilmore was leading the LED Lighting sales efforts for SEESMART LED. In his new role, John will spearhead the sales and marketing of RedBird LED Tube Lights to lighting distributors, major national corporations, state and federal agencies, retailers and institutional owners throughout the United States.

Jonathan Eppstein, President of Redbird LED said, "We are excited that one of the most successful sales professionals in the country of LED Tube Lights has joined RedBird LED. John's commitment to RedBird validates our belief that there is a large demand for premium quality- high performing LED Linear Replacement Lamp products. The recent certification by the DesignLights Consortium for both our 22 watt and 18 watt Cardinal Linear Replacement Lamp products, which prequalifies them for many energy rebate programs, was a key factor in John's decision to join our firm at this time. Culminating several years of development and testing, the Cardinal LED Linear Replacement Lamp has become first, second, and still the only LED tube light in the world to receive DLC Certification."

In his previous position with SEESMART, a leading LED lighting distributor, John was responsible for managing the lighting sales operations, marketing strategy development, introduction of new products and managing key client accounts. During his tenure , sales revenue increased 92% to $11.5 million in 2011. Over this same time period his personal sales volume exceeded $7 million, including two of the largest LED Tube lighting contracts, Pasadena City College and General Services Administration. His previous clients included; Department of Defense (Army, Navy, and Air Force), Homeland Security, Department of Justice (correctional facilities), Department of General Services (City of Los Angeles), airports, schools, universities, and various municipalities throughout the US.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of RedBird LED", says John Gilmore. "Jonathan is a brilliant engineer with a great vision. The fact that Redbird is exclusively focused on building the finest LED linear replacement lamps allows me to continue to build on my experience in marketing products in this category. Our plan is to leverage the Cardinal lamp's quality and DLC Certification to become the number one LED tube supplier in the world over the next year. Having the 18W tube on the DLC's qualified product list will allow us penetrate the massive fluorescent tube retrofit market, which has become a more immediate need with the recent obsolescence and subsequent unavailability of the older T12 style fluorescent tubes. Adding a rebate incentive to the basic energy savings, will allow the customer to see a complete payback in less than 1 year in many cases.

Over the past 5 years I have learned a tremendous amount about LED linear tubes. When I met with Jonathan and reviewed the RedBird LED technical data, the decision to make the move was very easy. It is truly the best LED tube in the world today!!"

About RedBird LED - Redbird LED is an Atlanta based designer and manufacturer of LED linear lights. Their company mission is to focus exclusively on providing quality LED linear light solutions to their customers. Redbird LED's core technology is in their premier linear LED light, designed and engineered specifically for retrofits of traditional fluorescent tube lights.

LED Lighting Retrofit Provides Ernst & Young With Annual Savings of $1 MIllion

Ernst & Young recently completed  one  of the largest LED lighting retrofit projects in New York Cty by replacing less energy efficient ligting at its headquarters office building in Times Square.The Ernst & Young headquarters building is 32 floors with 650,000 square feet of office space and houses 5,800 employees.  It is estimated that Ernst& Young will reduce their lighting and mainteance costs by 50% and will save at least $1 million dollars per year in lighting energy costs.The LED lighting retrofit is just one example of Ernst & Young's commitment to reducing their environmental impact. They have set a goal to have 50% of the office space they occupy in 2013 be LEED certfied.

"Reducing the carbon footprint of our office space is part of our firm-wide strategy to reduce our environmental footprint as our business grows," says Leisha John, Ernst & Young Americas Director of Environmental Sustainability. "In fact, by the end of 2013, we plan to have a majority of our employees working in LEED and or Energy Star certified space. The completion of this lighting retrofit project in the New York office brings us one step closer to that goal, and will be part of that office’s Energy Star application.In addition to reducing our energy footprint, green technologies like LED help us to reduce our operating expenses, which is a best practice for any company," said John. "This project is the result of the collaboration between several infrastructure groups within Ernst & Young LLP, particularly the Facilities and Real Estate teams, and the Climate Change and Sustainability Services professionals, who advise clients on sustainability practices."

The firm was able to reduce their upfront installation costs by 13% through sourcing rebates from their Utility Company. For more information on available energy efficient rebate  programs through DesignLights Consortium members please visit www.redbirdled.com

RedBird LED 18 watt LED Linear Lamp Receives Certification from DLC

RedBird LED Inc., an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of  high quality energy efficient LED linear lighting products for industrial and commercial applications, is pleased to announce their second certification by the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) of their Cardinal™ LED Linear Retrofit products.  In May, RedBird LED  received certification by the DLC for their 22 watt LED Linear Replacement Lamp at both 4100K and 5000K CCTs.  The RedBird LED 18 watt Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacment lamp  has now also been certified by DLC as a Qualified Product. Culminating several years of development and testing, the Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacement Lamp has become both the first, second, and still the only LED tube light in the world to receive DLC Certification. 

By establishing the Cardinal LED tube light's position on the Qualified Product List of the DLC, RedBird LED has ensured that these products will be eligible for all rebate programs currently in place among the DLC's membership and will facilitate rapid approval by other rebate sources as well. The DLC is the premier resource for high-quality review and certification of LED lighting products that are not covered under the Energy STAR designated categories. The DLC membership is a nationwide consortium of utilities, EMCs and energy-efficiency programs across the United States and Canada. For more information about the DesignLights Consortium please visit their website at www.designlights.org.

For more information on the RdBird LED product line up or to receive technical specifications please visit the RedBird LED website or email company president Jonathan Eppstein.

LED Retrofits Increase Convenience Stores Bottom Line

Stewart's Shops recently completed an energy efficient lighting retrofit project at their corporate headquarters in Saratoga Springs, New York. Stewart's Shops operates 328 convenience stores in Upstate New York and Vermont. The annual savings from the lighting retrofit and replacement program is projected to be almost $78.000 per year. Based on these savings the lighting retrofit project will have a very quick payback period of less than sixteen months.

The existing lighting was replaced with more energy efficient T8 and T5 fluorescent lighting and LED lighting in all of the cold storage and freezer space. The ability of LED lighting to outperform other lighting options in cold temperatures was a key to the success of this project. “The ice cream freezer was the latest phase in a larger energy-efficiency project we've been working on with SmartWatt Energy for the last couple of years,” explained Gary Drake, President at Stewart’s Shops. The new energy efficient lighting will save 783,481 kWh of electricity per year. Stewart's Shops owns all of their real estate holding so these savings are important because they fall directly to their bottom line.

LED lighting provides many benefits for convenience store owners. In addition to energy and maintenance savings, LED lighting provides more uniform lighting and illumination that contribute to a better presentation of store products. This is especially important for food products in refrigerated cases and can lead to increased sales. LED lamps also produce less heat than fluorescent lamps which will lessen the load on the store's refrigeration system. LED’s work very well in the cold and last over 50,000 hours in a cooler and almost 100,000 hours in a freezer. 


RedBird LED, offers a number of high quality LED Linear Replacement lamps that are featured in convenience stores across the country. For more technical information on LED lighting please call 678-733-2473 or visit the RedBird LED website.

LED Lighting Retrofits Eligible for Energy Retrofits from Utility Companies

This week, the Department of Energy regulations that eliminate the manufacture of most T12 fluorescent lamps will be lamps take effect. The DOE wants to remove the energy inefficient T12 lamps from the commercial lighting market. Many companies, concerned about future supply and pricing of T12 lamps have pursued lighting retrofit projects to replace their existing lighting with more energy efficient T5 or T8 lamps.

Utility companies have encouraged these efforts by offering energy efficient lighting upgrade and replacement rebates. In many cases these rebates cover 50% of the installation costs for the lighting retrofit. These energy rebates allowed companies to replace their T12 lamps with their quality LED replacement lamps.Utility companies have recently announced that they will be extending these rebates to allow more companies to retrofit their T12 lighting.

One utility company that extended their rebate time period is DTE Energy in Michigan. DTE is offering special cash incentives to business owners who invest in new energy efficient lighting technologies through July 31, 2012, as part of the company's Energy Efficiency Program for Business. The financial incentives are available to businesses that convert older model, T12 fluorescent lights to high performance or low wattage-high performance T8 lamps and electronic ballasts. In California, Northern California utility companies will continue to offer energy saving rebates/incentives for these T12 to T8, T5 or LED upgrades through December 2012.

"We realize this legislation could significantly affect many of our business customers," said Bill Clemens, manager of energy efficiency program for DTE Energy. "We want to help our customers cover a portion of the investment needed to upgrade to the latest energy efficient technology. By retrofitting their outdated lights now, businesses can not only take advantage of the incentives that will likely be discontinued, but they will also avoid increased costs of replacing those lights in the future."

The Energy Efficiency Program for Business (dteenergy.com/saveenergy) was launched in 2009 to help DTE Energy customers save money by using less energy. The program offers customers a wide array of energy efficiency ideas and incentives. Customers can earn incentives if they make improvements from a list of qualified efficiency upgrades for both gas and electric technologies, including energy-efficient lighting, drives, controls, heating ventilation and air conditioning and more. For more information, please visit the program website at www.dteenergy.com/saveenergy , or call 866-796-0512, Option 3.

RedBird LED is an Atlanta-based manufacturer and designer of high quality LED linear replacement lamps. Their products have been used in national grocery, convenience stores, major hotel chains and corporate facilities throughout the country. To learn more about retrofitting your facility lighting and available energy rebate programs please visit the RedBird LED website.

  

Building Magazine- Save Money on Energy Efficient Lighting Retrofits

Building Magazine Provides Tips to Avoid Lighting Retrofit Mistakes

Energy efficient lighting retrofit projects have proven to be one of the simplest and direct ways to not only reduce lighting and maintenance costs but also reduce a corporation’ carbon footprint. This week is the deadline the DOE has set for the end of production of energy inefficient T12 lamps. This is just one more reason to pursue an energy efficient lightingretrofit program for your facilities. Most companies report saving between 35-60% of their annual lighting costs after retrofitting their lighting with LED linear replacement lamps.

Buildings Magazine recently reported on the energy saving benefits from a lighting retrofit program and 17 mistakes to avoid. Our thanks to author David Laybourn with Lime Energy. This was a helpful guide to some mistakes companies have made in past projects. This is a good learning opportunity even for experienced facility managers and engineers.

Choosing the wrong team- Make sure you select a vendor partner with experience and the ability to help you reach your energy saving goals.

Conflicting Chain of Command- Important to have a project manager that provides direction to the entire team who has budget and negotiating ability.

Neglecting Frontline People- Involve the end-users of the space from the beginning to get their buy-in and insure that they will be happy with finished project.

Calling in Experts Too Late- Involve all needed expertise at the start of the project rather than in the middle or after the project is done.

Underestimating the Importance of a Lighting Audit- The lighting audit provides the foundation for the entire project and integrates the financial goals with appropriate selection of lighting approaches and equipment.

Using the Wrong Approach- Use a system based approach rather than a single manufacturer approach. Energy savings are only maximized when all energy systems work together

Buying Based on price- “Energy-saving retrofit projects bought on price alone are usually a false economy. The few pennies saved upfront can cost thousands in lost savings, increased maintenance costs, and losses in worker productivity. Since the energy savings are paying for the project, why not choose higher quality and avoid risky situations, even if it means adding a few months to the payback?”

To read the full article please visit Buildings Magazinewebsite.

One area not addressed in the article is one of the major obstacles to launching an energy efficient lighting program -the upfront cost. Many utilities offer energy rebates for  upgrading lighting to LED lamps or other more energy efficient technology. Many times these rebate program cans pay for up to 50% of the installation cost.

Recently RedBird LED announced that their four foot Cardinal Linear Replacement LED Lamps were certified by the DesignLights Consortium. These products are the only four foot LED lamps that would qualify for energy rebates  from DLC Utility Company member firms. For more information on these products please visit their website.

Marriott Hotel Undergoes LED Parking Garage Lighting Retrofit

LED lighting played a major role in the recent energyefficient lighting retrofit at Marriott hotel headquarters location in Bethesda, Maryland. They retrofitted not only their corporate offices but also two million square feet of parking and garage space. Marriott said security for employees and guests and energy savings were top priorities when considering new lighting to cover the nearly 45 acres of parking and garage space.

LED lighting typically provides energy savings between 35-70% and their long life expectancy reduces maintenance costs. Marriott estimated their annual savings for the lighting project would be $104,000 per year with an additional maintenance savings of $210,000 over the next 10 years.  As if these savings were not significant enough, the hotel chain also received more than $130,000 in utility rebates and EPACT savings. The cost for the lighting retrofit will be paid for in less than two years.  Energy rebates are very important factors in helping companies reduce a substantial portion of the upfront costs of lighting upgrades or retrofits.

Marriott chose high-efficiency LED lighting to replace traditional 400- to 1,000-watt high-intensity discharge lighting for the headquarters parking garage spaces. This choice also was consistent with their corporate commitment to sustainability.  Marriott has 13 hotels across all of their brands that are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), including the headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.  “We preferred the exceptional output and uniformity of GE ‘s LED lighting,” says Jim Young, vice president, corporate facilities for Marriott International, Inc.  “GE performed a comprehensive lighting audit of our existing system, provided photometric analysis with 3D renderings of the new system, and forecasted our energy and maintenance savings. GE excelled as both a trusted strategic consultant and solutions provider.”

For more information on parking garage lighting retrofits and technical information on LED linear lamps please visit the RedBird LEDwebsite.

Cardinal™ LED Linear Replacement Lamp Products by RedBird LED Receive Certification from the DesignLights Consortium

 RedBirdLED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting products announces certification by the Design Lights Consortium (DLC) of their Cardinal LED Linear Retrofit products.Cardinal™ Linear Replacement Lamps are high quality replacements for standard fluorescent tubes (T8 and T12) and provide electrical savings of 35% to 50%.  The DLC is the premier resource for high-quality review and certification of LED lightingproducts that are not covered under the Energy STAR designated categories. RedBird LED has ensured that these products will be eligible for all energy rebate programs currently in place among the DLC's membership and will facilitate rapid approval by other rebate sources as well.


Jonathan Eppstein, RedBird's President says, "Building a product that can pass the extremely tough DLC standards for this category of light has been a challenge. The threshold for approval in the 'Four-foot Linear Replacement Lamps' category is almost twice as high as for any LED class the DLC has previously looked at. Being the first LED product to apply for review in this category has highlighted many aspects of performance needed for a good LED retrofit product that go well beyond simply measuring total lumens produced. In completing the process, we have actually come to realize that our product is even better than previously thought! Throughout this process, we have been impressed with the level of competence and professionalism displayed by the DLC team."


 The DLC membership is a nationwide consortium of utilities, EMCs and energy-efficiency programs across the United States and Canada. By establishing the Cardinal LED tube light's position on the Qualified Product List of the DLC, RedBird LED has ensured that these products will be eligible for all rebate programs currently in place among the DLC's membership and will facilitate rapid approval by other rebate sources as well.

Contact: info@redbirdled.com 678-733-2473, RedBird LED, Inc. 1202 Gail Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319

Value Energy Solutions Awarded Energy Efficient Lighting Retrofit Project

Derry, New Hampshire (January 17, 2011) Value Energy Solutions, one of the largest lighting retrofit companies in the nation, recently was awarded a energy efficient lighting retrofit project for NH Sports Zone in Derry, New Hampshire. The Sports Zone is one of the largest indoor sports facilities in New Hampshire with more than 95,000 square feet of indoor playing surfaces. The facility serves as the home to numerous sports leagues and team activities including soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and even flag football! 

The cost of constantly lighting the indoor fields is one of their largest operating expenses. The Sports Zone contacted Tom Bolduc – Territory Manager with Value Energy Solutions to explore reducing their energy costs by replacing their lighting with more energy efficient lighting. Tom and VES recommended retrofitting the existing 460 watt metal halide lighting with more energy efficient 6 lamp 320 watt T5 High Bay lights. Based on their recommendation, the Sports Zone purchased 90 T5 high bays which will provide an estimated energy savings of 43%.  In addition to the energy savings, the T5 lamps have a much longer lifespan than typical HID lighting, which will reduce future maintenance costs for Sports Zone.

Value Energy Solutions provides customers with energy efficient lighting solutions that take advantage of new fluorescent lighting technology. The new T5 High Bay fluorescent fixtures have many advantages over traditional metal halide lighting;

• Energy Efficiency - Typical 54 watt T5 lamp produces 5000 lumens - 92.6 lumens per watt
• Lower Lumen Depreciation - only 5-6% lumen output loss between the rated initial and maintained lumens. Metal Halide lumen loss is about 35%.
• Higher Quality Lighting - T5 lamps have a color rendering Index of 85 while metal halide lamps have a CRI of 65-70.
• Instant Startup and Restrike – T5 fluorescent lamps start and restrike instantly unlike HID sources which can take several minutes to restrike.

Value Energy Solutions can offer their customers the right lighting solution at the lowest price point because they work with more than 250 lighting manufacturers. Each client receives personalized service and a customized lighting program not a “one size fits all approach”.

About Value Energy Solutions - Value Energy Solutions is one of the largest energy efficient lighting retrofitting companies in the United States. Realizing the need for building owners, property managers and facility engineers to find ways to conserve energy and cut their operating costs, Value Energy Solutions provides improved energy efficient lighting products as replacements for existing higher wattage fixtures. Value Energy Solutions was launched as a new venture by owners Dean Nations and Alan Carlquist as an expansion of their existing company, Value Lighting, Inc., a premier lighting wholesaler and distributor of lighting products. 

The Value Energy Solutions lighting retrofit programs are offered for all commercial building types including Parking Garages, Warehouse/Industrial Buildings, Hotels, Retail Chains, Apartments and Office Buildings.  Value Energy Solutions is located at 1110 Allgood Industrial Court, Marietta, GA 30066. To request more information please call or email at chris@valueenergysolutions.com or 770.335.0909.

About NH SportsZone - NH SportsZone  located in Derry New Hampshire, is one of the finest indoor sports facilities in the state. The SportsZone offers three hardwood floating courts used exclusively for basketball and volleyball. Two indoor turf fields; one 185' x 85' SafePlay turf field and one 170' x 80' granular rubber infill field: both used for soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, wiffleball, softball, ultimate disc, flag football, bocce, kickball, dog shows, and trade shows. Plus three Tileflex cushioned multi-sport courts for basketball, volleyball, dodge ball, and trade shows. For more information about Sports Zone please visit www.nhsportszone.com.

Senior Housing Company Undergoes Lighting Retrofit

Reported in Environmental Leader

Brookdale Senior Living has completed its nationwide lighting retrofit throughout the company’s 546 senior care communities. The initiative is estimated to save $5 million annually in electric utility costs and deliver a return on investment over about one year. The project also provides energy savings of approximately 75% and gives 30% more light to the residences.

The facilities primarily used products from TCP Inc.’s range of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb styles. The lamps have an expected lifespan of 10 to 15 times the incandescent products they replaced. Brookdale was able to participate in utility rebate programs offered around the country, and selected some specific TCP lamps in order to qualify for the rebates, including many GU-24 base lamps.

Brookdale also used the “InstaBright” CFL line from TCP in bathroom vanity applications. Other TCP products that were used were Flat Face Par 20’s, 30’s and 38’s, decorative CFL’s and some LED lamps in night lights and nursing call applications. The installments focused on retrofitting existing fixtures in exit signs, corridors, bathrooms and resident rooms. The project also included signage and outdoor lighting when appropriate.

LED Lighting Retrofits- BLOG Sponsor
 
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678) 733-2473


Whitehead & Associates, an Atlanta-based electrical manufacturer’s representative, specializing in commercial and industrial lighting, executed the lighting retrofit project in each of Brookdale’s communities over a two-year period using Brookdale in-house maintenance teams. About 95% of the lighting fixtures in the communities had a savings opportunity.

“The one common goal we had was to maintain the safest and most comfortable environment for our residents. Ultimately, we were able to accomplish this objective with the right lamp choices, which significantly cut lighting consumption and increased light levels by more than 30 percent,” Jeff Patton, Vice President of Procurement at Brookdale Senior Living.

Nally Lexus in Georgia Completes LED Parking Garage LED Retrofit

Albuquerque, New Mexico. December 14, 2010—Qnuru™, the premier provider of energy-efficient digital lighting solutions, today announced that it has upgraded 70 1000-watt metal halide exterior lights at Nalley Lexus of Roswell, GA with its 144 watt Vector™ LED bulbs.  Installed in October 2010, Qnuru’s LED retrofit has reduced the dealership’s exterior-lighting expenses by 86.6% while increasing its lumen output by 19% compared to their metal halide predecessors.  Nalley Lexus of Roswell is part of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG; www.asburyauto.com), one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S. 

“Auto dealers want to focus on satisfying customers, not worrying about burned-out light bulbs,” said George Karolis, vice president of corporate development and real estate at Asbury Automotive Group.  “I believe every automotive dealer confronts the same set of challenges with their lighting infrastructure—it consumes too much electricity, the bulbs burn out frequently and the quality of the light is poor given the amount of energy used.

Qnuru retrofitted Nalley Lexus of Roswell’s exterior pole-mounted parking lot lights with its 144 watt Vector Pecos bulb.  Designed to replace energy intensive 750-1000 watt high intensity discharge lamps, the Pecos bulb offers an even photometric footprint, daylight-quality light (CRI of 74.8) and instant on capabilities.  The Pecos bulbs are based on high bin Cree LEDS (Nasdaq: CREE) which have a rated life of 50,000 hours and come with Qnuru’s 5-year warranty, independent LM79 verification, and are ETL-Classified in the U.S. and Canada.

“Auto dealers are important business beacons within their communities,” said Rhonda Dibachi, President and CEO of Qnuru.  “Nalley Lexus of Roswell’s adoption of energy-efficient LED technology is a great illustration of leadership by example.  LED lighting solutions help businesses lower their carbon footprint as well as reduce their operating costs.  In a world filled with difficult tradeoffs, LED lighting is a rare win-win for both the environment and business owners.”

LED Lighting Used in Film Production

Illuminating Choices

By Christine Bunish

Republished from Markee 2.0 Magazine

New lighting fixtures continually come on the market offering shooters and lighting designers new creative options and greater efficiencies. But adding these revolutionary or evolutionary new products to their lighting kits doesn't mean discounting the instruments they've come to depend on job after job. A noted tabletop director, a leading advocate of HDSLR video, a distinguished underwater cinematographer and an in-demand lighting designer share the contents of their lighting kits today.

For tabletop commercial director Tom Ryan, with Dallas-based Directorz (www.directorz.net), there are no formulas for lighting food spots. "It's all about appetite appeal," he says. "I try to give every client I work with their own look."Ryan primarily shoots film, although he has switched to the Phantom camera for high-speed photography, and uses a tight-grain slow film stock that demands "a certain amount of wattage" from his lighting package. He typically uses Mole-Richardson tungsten 20K, 10K and 5K fixtures for interiors and HMIs for exteriors supplemented with focusable spot sources, lekos and dedo kits.

Ryan has experimented a bit with LEDs "but for the amount of light we use, they're not always practical," he points out. "The beauty of LEDs is that they don't take a lot of power, they don't put out a lot of heat and they're great on location."Ryan's tried-and-true lighting approach with conventional fixtures gives him a lot of latitude to create the different looks and moods his spot clients require.

In Taco Bell's "Cantina Tacos" with lime commercial, "conceptually the lime was a character and we wanted it to really pop," he explains. Ryan shot the tacos bursting with filling, their shiny aluminum foil and a drop of juice clinging to a luscious lime wedge, with a pair of ARRI 35mm cameras. The exterior patio was lit with HMIs; for "ultra-macro" shots of the food he blacked out daylight and went back to tungsten sources.

Ryan's stylish "Whole Meals" spot for Whole Foods was "influenced by old-school Irving Penn photos with clean white backgrounds," he notes. "The challenge was not to let the background overpower what I was shooting" — simple, fresh ingredients, white table linens, butcher paper and brown bags. "It would have been easy to wash out what the focal point of the pictures should be, and if you went too much the other way things would have become muddy and gray. So it was pretty critical to keep the balances consistent." Ryan took light-meter readings of the backgrounds and foregrounds and aimed for 2.5 stops difference; once that was established he kept the balance consistent across the board with his usual complement of tungsten fixtures.

He even kept the white-on-white place settings "in the same range as if they were ingredients" making "some creative decisions" as he went along about how much fill to add to separate the tone on tone.Taco Cabana's evocative spot showing Lenore Segura in her kitchen assembling the ingredients for a brisket taco features "Rembrandt-style" lighting that "lets the shadows go and the highlights be simple and single source," says Ryan. "Where there were shadows on her we let them go dark, but we softly illuminated the walls behind her so the highlights separate the shadow." Ryan initially lit the spot with overhead Kino Flo sources then "backed away and decided it needed a more painterly feel," and turned instead to his trusty tungstens. 

Slow liquid pours are part of a tabletop director's repertoire and Ryan's "Once a Day" spot for the Florida Department of Citrus showcases the appeal of a simple glass of orange juice against white limbo. Ryan shot the entire spot with a Phantom using a lighting scheme similar to what he would have used with a Photosonics high-speed film camera.

"It took a lot of light — 20Ks with dimmers," he recalls. "With the white background we needed twice as much light on the background as on the juice. When I'm shooting video I'd rather shoot it a bit wider aperture so you get a bit of fall off for a more filmic look." A broad source gave shape and highlights to the slow pours that wash up against the glass like waves in extreme close ups. Delicious!

To read the full; article please visit Markee 2.0 website

http://www.markeemag.com/article/detail.php?RecordID=160

Advantages and Disavantages of LED Lighting Retrofits

Interesting article on the advantages and disadvantages of energy efficient LED lighting retrofit covers some interesting points. Of course one of the key disadvantage of any lighting retrofit is the upfront cost.Many LED lighting retrofit companies offer financing programs. For example, Redbird LED based in Atlanta, works with Energy Finance a division of RedClay. Financing a lighting retrofit is obviously important and most visitors to their website visit the Financing info on their website. There are also many state, federal and utility rebate programs available to finance your energy retrofit investments. Some of these rebates pay up to 100% of the cost.

Excerpt from article below.

By Glenn Meyers
Green Building Elements

Energy and lighting efficiency questions are plentiful on whether or not to make a transition from traditional incandescent lighting systems to LED alternatives.According to a post at Buzzle, "Energy efficient lighting not only contributes to a better environment but also saves huge energy costs."

There are few arguments to this thinking except one, the cost. Just switching over traditional incandescent lights to LED lights comes with a significantly price tag, even if the life of the bulbs and the large energy savings they bring are scaled into the picture.

Some large retailers are making the transition. Environmental Leader recently reported that retailer Macy's was retrofitting 117,000 halogen-based accent bulbs in its 86 stores with LED bulbs. Macy's expects the retrofit will reduce the company's energy consumption by 73 percent. The total cost of the Macy's retrofit was not mentioned, however.

Buzzle provides these considerations for retrofitting, "LED fixtures cost more to purchase than the traditional light sources. There are many factors that contribute to the effective and economic performance of LEDs, so a range of payback scenarios exist. But a lower wattage luminaire significantly reduces the payback period."

There are three disadvantages to consider about LED systems, "First is its initial cost," says Anne Linden. Many people are used to the relatively inexpensive traditional light bulb, and the new LED lamps seem expensive in comparison. However, when you recognize that each lamp has an estimated lifespan of over twenty years, and only uses 5 percent of the electricity of the so-called "cheap" glass bulb, you can recognize the inherent value of the newer type. And much of that price differential was due to the fact that the technology is so new that companies were recovering their investment in research and development. Prices are already falling considerably as they become more common in the marketplace. And with the ever-tightening drive to economize on energy usage, they will become even more common in newer fixtures available in stores.

"The second disadvantage is the fact that they cannot be used in "regular" screw-in sockets. They require a GU10 socket, or a screw-in GU10 adapter," says Linden. However, this "disadvantage" may actually have a benefit as a safety feature. Traditional lamps can become cross-threaded and stick in the socket. When you try to use force to remove them, they often break. There is no danger of cross-threading with the GU10 style socket, you just push it in and give a slight twist; thus these bulbs are safer to use.

"Finally, the light from a led lamp is "different" from other lamps. These new LED's emit a more tightly focused beam, and you may need to do some research to determine what level of brightness you need, as wattage is not an accurate measure for this type. Look to see if the package gives equivalent output ratings compared to the wattage output levels we have all become used to," Linden concludes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS995665020101216

Macy's Department Stores to Save Millions of Dollars with LED Lights

Macy's recently announced that they will be one of the first department store company to implement the use of LED accent lighting on a wide scale. Their LED lighting retrofit will replace about 117,000 traditional incandescent light bulbs in 86 Macy's stores. The new LED bulbs use about 73 percent less energy than the older bulbs.. Total energy savings from the led lighting retrofit are estimated at about 16,200 megawatts per hour every year.In addition the the LED lamps have an expected life of 10 years -compared with less than one year for traditional bulbs reducing both maintenance and recycling costs for Macy's.

Macy's worked with MSi Solid State Lighting on the lighting retrofit. Unlike hot burning halogen lights, the extremely efficient LED lights produce very little heat and within hours of installation, store employees had noticed a drop in the store's temperature. "Many retailers are a little concerned about the initial investment of converting to LED lighting," said Bruce Johnson, MSi managing partner, "But if they take the time to run the numbers as Macy's has, they'll see that switching over produces a tremendous return on their investment."LED lighting produces savings that go far beyond just cooling cost. LED's use a fraction of the power required by halogen spots while producing a clean, clear light that enhances product displays and merchandise.

LED Lighting Retrofits- BLOG Sponsor
 
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678) 733-2473

SAP Saves $80,000 Per Year From LED Ligting Retrofit

SAP recently completed a series of energy retrofit projects including an LED lighting retrofit. GreenTech Media provided an interesting analysis of the energy savings from each type of energy retrofit.The LED lighting retrofit was number two n savings!


By Michael Kanellos

Fluctuating energy prices, new regulations, employee satisfaction and market opportunities are prompting large and small businesses to adopt green technologies.But where do you get the most bang for your buck?

At the Palo Alto campus of SAP, the answer turns out to be videoconferencing. The company, as part of an overall energy retrofit, installed three telepresence systems from Cisco Systems in Palo Alto for a cost of $300,000. The units will save $300,000 in reduced travel costs in the first year alone. Besides that, they boost productivity.

Solid state lighting came in second place. SAP installed 337 LED fixtures from Lunera and connected them through a network from Redwood Systems. Total cost: $434,000. Annual savings: $80,000.“It is the best business case except telepresence,” said Peter Graf, SAP’s chief sustainability officer.

Retrofitting the data center to run on DC power came in fourth place, right behind a $1.2 million solar array, but the best part has yet to come for DC. The retrofit -- which largely revolved around installing a rectifier that can convert high voltage AC power from the grid into high voltage DC to run computers and storage equipment -- cost $128,000 and saves $24,000 a year. (DC rectifiers save power by reducing the number of times power gets converted from AC to DC and vice versa before it powers a server -- we’re huge fans of DC power these days).That’s a 5.3-year payback. Overall, the DC data center reduces power consumption in the data center by 15 to 20 percent, said Branitzky.

LED Lighting Retrofits- BLOG Sponsor
 
A good practice for businesses looking to reduce energy expenses is to consider an LED lighting retrofit. Lighting retrofits replace lighting with newer technology such as LED linear lighting to save on energy costs and maintenance costs. Many building experts recommend a lighting retrofit as the first step to reducing energy costs. Redbird LED is an Atlanta based manufacturer and designer of Premium LED lights at value price points. For more information please visit their LED Retrofit website or call ( 678) 733-2473



For years, SAP’s software mostly focused on parameters like factory productivity, cost-per-unit, etc. Now, the idea is to highlight building energy consumption, fuel costs and other direct and indirect factors tied to energy and resources. Right now, large companies largely estimate those figures through extrapolation. But in the future, soft drink managers will, ideally, be able to more easily mine data on changes to the water or fuel footprint of a canned soda over different energy pricing scenarios.

Regulations and rising energy costs are prompting large companies to try to better track resources. But price volatility is also a huge concern. In the last decade, commodity pricing has been 40 percent more volatile than it was in the previous decade, Graf noted. The uncertain future surrounding China’s exports of rare earth elements underscores the problem.


To read the full article please visit

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-worlds-best-green-technology/

Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church Upgrades to LED Lighting in Retrofit Project

Redbird LED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting, recently completed an energy efficient lighting retrofit project for Saint Patrick’s Episcopal Church. Founded in 1966, Saint Patrick’s Episcopal Church is located in the prestigious Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, Georgia. The church contacted Redbird LED to explore ways they could both reduce energy and facility maintenance costs and lower their environmental impact at the same time.

Redbird LED worked with Saint Patrick’s to design a retrofit program targeting the older less energy efficient lighting in the church sanctuary and religious offices. Older 40 watt fluorescent tubes were replaced with more energy efficient 18 watt LED linear lights and the 150 watt incandescent spot light lamps were replaced by Dim-able 18 watt LED par lights. These were designed to be a direct screw-in replacement with excellent compatibility to the installed lamp dimming system.

 The lighting retrofit will provide more than $5,000 per year in savings from the direct drop in electrical consumption, with additional savings from smaller air conditioning requirements due to the reduction in heat loads. Almost as important was the reduction in lighting maintenance time to replace the lamps. The LED lights have a lamp life of 50,000 hours eliminating the need for replacement for the next twelve years. This was very attractive because many of the lamps, such as those in the sanctuary, require scaffolding to service because they are more than 35 feet above the floor.

For more information on LED Lighting retrofits please call RedbirdLED at 678-733-2473 or visit their website www.redbirdled.com