How American Businesses are Leading the Way in Green Building Technology

See how U.S. companies made the Shanghai Tower a shining example of green building. | Graphic by Matty Greene, Department of Energy.

In 2014, two daredevils broke into a construction site and climbed to the top of the second tallest building in the world: the Shanghai Tower. You may recognize it from their vertigo-inducing viral video, which leaves no doubt that the Tower is tall. What it doesn’t show is how much American businesses have had an impact on making the structure one of the greenest large buildings in the world.

Green buildings are more sustainable than conventional buildings by using fewer building materials, conserving energy and reducing waste. Thanks in large part to technologies from U.S. companies (and compared to conventional technologies) the approaches used in the Shanghai Tower:

• Reduce energy use by 21 percent
• Reduce water consumption by 40 percent
• Reduce the building’s carbon footprint by 34,000 metric tons per year, equivalent to taking more than 7,000 cars off the road.

From the architectural design and landscaping to temperature control and lighting, U.S. companies have made significant contributions to the Tower’s green design, which has earned a LEED Gold rating, as well as a China Green Building Three Star rating. Take a look at the graphic above to see some examples.

The Tower exemplifies how U.S. technology can drive economic growth while reducing carbon emissions, a path critical to addressing global climate change. As Secretary Moniz said in a recent speech, “Ultimately our focus is on the solutions to the climate-change challenge through technology. … American business will be called upon here to do the heavy lifting.”

That’s why 24 American companies are in China right now, joining Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall for a joint trade mission focused on smart cities and green infrastructure. The trip aims to follow through on the climate change goals laid out by President Obama and President Xi last November.

The Shanghai Tower is just one shining example of how U.S. companies are leading the way in green building technologies. In Shanghai and around the world, American innovation is scaling new heights when it comes to sustainability.

Pat Adams

Digital Content Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

Energy Efficient Upgrades - Lighting

Lighting is a critical component of every small business. Employees must be able to see to perform their jobs, and objects and spaces must be aesthetically pleasing to encourage sales.

Depending on the type of business you operate, lighting accounts for 20% to 50% of electricity consumption. This means that significant cost savings can be achieved with energy-efficiency improvements, and due to continually improving equipment, lighting usually provides the highest return-on-investment of major upgrades.

https://www.sba.gov/content/lighting

Fact or Fiction – LEDs don’t produce heat

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2005/05/fact-or-fiction-leds-don-t-produce-heat.html

New programs from Focus on Energy!!

Contact us to reduce your energy costs today!



https://focusonenergy.com/business/businessprogramupdates

LEDs: Lighting The Way To Major Energy Savings

LEDs: Lighting The Way To Major Energy Savings Eric Savitz Eric Savitz , Forbes Staff Guest post written by Chuck Swoboda Chuck Swoboda is CEO of Cree, which makes LEDs and LED lighting products. Chuck Swoboda President Obama set what he considers an ambitious goal for reduced energy consumption during his State of the Union address Tuesday night: “Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next twenty years.” Why wait so long? The technology and economics to achieve much of this goal exist today. One of the most antiquated devices wasting power in your home right now is the light with which you’re reading this article. Your incandescent bulb is based on technology that is more than 130 years old, a light source that converts most of the bulb’s energy to heat rather than light. American companies that build lighting based on modern technology – LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) – can enable consumers to save money and slash their electricity usage for lighting by as much as 80 percent. Today. That change can achieve much of the President’s goal since lighting accounts for nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of electricity spending in the average household, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. As consumers, we already rely upon LED lights in our cell phones and HDTVs. The barrier to the widespread use of efficient LEDs for lighting has been the high upfront cost of LED fixtures and bulbs. But now advancements in technology are dramatically lowering prices, so much so that a sub $10 LED bulb, which delivers brilliant, high quality light for more than a decade could soon be a reality. LED lighting is already cost effective – extremely so – for businesses and municipalities. The City of Los Angeles is saving $5.3 million annually thanks to the Green LA initiative that has thus far replaced 114,000 high-pressure sodium street lights with LED lighting, the nation’s largest such project. Once completed, Los Angeles anticipates LED lighting will save taxpayers $10-million-a-year, nearly two-thirds of what the city had been paying for lighting its streets. Sheetz, the convenience store and gas station chain, ranked 61st on Forbes Magazine’s List of America’s Largest Private Companies, has installed LED interior and exterior lighting at more than 130 of its locations across six states. The energy savings: 45 percent on interior lighting, and as much as 55 percent on exterior lighting that illuminates Sheetz’s gas pumps. As expenses drop, LED lighting is helping boost top-line growth, according to Sheetz, which reports customers find the brighter facilities more visually appealing and perceive them as safer. Such examples explain why LEDs accounted for 8 percent of the U.S. lighting market in 2012, according to McKinsey & Co., primarily in street lighting, retail and office environments. Now it’s the consumer’s turn. Fundamental advances in LED semiconductor technology, optics, and lighting system design now enable LED lights to break century old cost and performance barriers that have prevented consumers from realizing the savings businesses and municipalities already enjoy. While a typical incandescent bulb uses 60 watts of power to generate light, the current state of LED technology can produce the same light for less than 10 watts. A better, more efficient product means less expensive light. To a consumer, this means saving money – significant amounts of money. As the cost factor shrinks, adoption of LED lighting climbs. The industry’s current rate of cost reduction could result in a doubling of LED lighting adoption over the next year. The shorter the payback on the upfront expenditure, the more likely consumers will choose LED lighting. We’ve already seen this trend in commercial lighting markets. As we approach price parity with traditional lighting, any remaining barriers for commercial and consumer adoption should continue to diminish, and we believe the rate of adoption will accelerate. Not only does this trend result in better lighting that saves Americans money and time (imagine not changing a bulb for more than a decade), but it will also eliminate a tremendous amount of physical waste. According to IMS Research, collectively, 5.6 billion bulbs light American households and businesses, including 4.2 billion incandescent bulbs and about 1 billion compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs that contain toxic mercury. More than 1 billion new bulbs are purchased every year. The President’s own U.S. Department of Energy predicts the switch to LED lighting over the next two decades could save $250 billion in energy costs. There’s no need to wait.

Lumens are the New Watts

Using lumens as the measure of a light bulb’s brightness will simplify shopping for light bulbs… By EARTHEASY.COM Posted AUG 17, 2011 Back in the old days, when there was only one basic type of light bulb consumers could buy, (the incandescent bulb descended from Edison’s original) we could rely on the term “watts” to help us choose the right bulb for our lamps and outdoor lights. Although “watts” refers to how much energy a bulb will use when lit, we understood the relative brightness levels between 60-watt, 100-watt or 150-watt light bulbs. Then along came the energy-saving CFL bulbs A 15-watt CFL bulb, according to the package, produced the equivalent light of a 60-watt incandescent. A 25-watt CFL was comparable to a 100-watt incandescent in light output. And so forth. Shoppers were expected to understand the wattage conversions of these strange looking new CFL light bulbs. LED bulbs, more efficient than CFLs, use even less wattage to achieve desired brightness levels As we gradually got used to the idea of the CFL bulbs and began to understand how to choose the right CFL for our lighting needs, the new LED bulbs came into the mix. Originally used for small task lights such as flashlights and instrument lights, LED technology has evolved rapidly with new LED bulbs available for most applications in the home. LED bulbs, more efficient than CFLs, use even less wattage to achieve desired brightness levels. A 6-watt LED is equivalent to a 15-watt CFL which is equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb. It’s getting confusing isn’t it? And besides three different wattage equivalents for the three basic types of light bulbs on store shelves, there are new halogen incandescent bulbs, new LED tube lights, and terms like Coloring Rendering Index (CRI) and Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) which further describe characteristics of light quality from a bulb. the FTC has mandated packaging changes for all light bulbs, effective in 2012, which simplify and standardize the differences in light bulb output To help shoppers make sense of the many choices in lighting today, the FTC has mandated packaging changes for all light bulbs, effective in 2012, which simplify and standardize the differences in light bulb output. Wattage is no longer a reliable way to gauge a light bulb’s brightness. Lumens, the measure of a bulb’s actual brightness, is the new standard for comparing light bulbs of all types. Lumens, the measure of a bulb’s actual brightness, is the new standard for comparing light bulbs of all types Lumens measure brightness. A standard 60-watt incandescent bulb, for example, produces about 800 lumens of light. By comparison, a CFL bulb produces that same 800 lumens using less than 15 watts. But you don’t need to understand yet another conversion. It’s simple. The more lumens, the brighter the bulb. You can use lumens to compare the brightness of any bulb, regardless of the technology behind it, and regardless of whether it’s a halogen incandescent, CFL or LED. Using lumens helps you compare “apples to apples” when you shop for light bulbs. Once you know how bright a bulb you want, you can compare other factors, like the yearly energy cost.

There is still time to cash in on incentives from Focus on Energy. Please consider us for all your lighting needs.
https://focusonenergy.com/business/efficient-equipment/lighting

Rural Energy for America Program - Renewable Energy System and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loan and Grant Program

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides financial assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses in rural America to purchase, install, and construct renewable energy systems; make energy efficiency improvements to non-residential buildings and facilities; use renewable technologies that reduce energy consumption; and participate in energy audits, renewable energy development assistance, and feasibility studies.

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_ReapResEei.html

LED LAMPS ARE NOT ALL EQUAL

Buying “the Wrong” LED Tube Lamps can be Expensive

Electrical Systems and Services, Inc is always concerned that our customers are well educated on what's new as well as comparing products. Many times when we get asked to bid on a project, we go over and above the demand by offering the customer several different options.One of the more common recent lighting upgrades ESS has done has been the T12 to T8 or T5. With a little more dollars up front, we can usually show the customer how money will be saved in the long haul, using LED's 

When making purchasing decision on energy efficient lighting, it is not uncommon for people to choose LED tubes lights on price alone. With conventional lamps where all things are equal, per-lamp price is a reasonable yardstick. However, with LED T8 lamps all things are everything but equal. Per-lamp price alone is inadequate to reflect the real cost of a retrofit project. Experienced lighting professionals are now considering  these factors when calculating the true cost of a retrofit project:

• ·         Per-lamp price
• ·         Per-lamp installation labor cost (50% labor saving is a lot)
• ·         Per-lamp accessories cost (for new tombstones, wirings, or an external driver)
• ·         Per-lamp rebate (available only for qualified LED products listed with LDL or DCL)
• ·         Per-lamp incentive (for it has strict requirements and expiration date)
• ·         Per-lamp energy difference (18W LED T8 saves 18% more energy comparing to 22W LED T8.)
• ·         Warranty (Rebate lists routinely call for 5-year warranty, thus a 3-year warranty is no longer acceptable.)
• ·         UL label (IFAR 1598C will be the standard in Feb, 2013, and many LED T8’s will lose their listing.)

With this holistic view for your retrofit project, buying a “lesser” LED T8 may be the wrong choice. Saving money by using a single-end lamp that only carries a 3-year warranty won’t get you the rebates. Also, you will need to use non-shunted tombstones, which your fixture may not have. Lastly, change-out time is greater since the fixture will require the electrician more labor time.  Now, how much did you really save with the “lesser” LED tube with that 3-year warranty, additional 4-watt higher on power consumption and without any rebate qualification, no UL1598C classification and requiring 50% more labor time on replacing fixture tombstone? You actually end up paying a lot more on a project basis with this “lesser” LED tube even though its per-lamp cost is cheaper.

RACINE ENERGY EFFICIENCY - Re2 PROGRAM

Would you like to save on energy bills and boost your bottom line?

Re2 and Electrical Systems and Services, Inc can help.

Re2 or the Racine Energy Efficiency Program is a federally funded program to help business owners implement energy-efficiency projects that will yield large energy savings over time. Re2 has the resources and expertise to help make energy savings upgrades like new lighting, HVAC, refrigeration equipment, and more, to your business.

Contact us to find out more on this new and exciting opportunity.

LED Street Smarts

Street lighting turns to LEDs for longevity and efficiency

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been appearing in traffic signals and vehicle headlights for years and are poised to affect another source of light we use to navigate our cities and towns. 


Municipal street lighting retrofitted with LEDs has enhanced several communities’ nighttime environments, while significantly reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs.

Administrators are well-versed in the financial strains of street lighting. It can account for up to one-quarter of a municipality’s electric bill, while maintenance can cost another 15 to 25 percent of their annual operating expense. However, what most municipalities lack is basic knowledge of lighting systems and technology.

RAMAC Article on ESS

This Article will be in the next issue of RAMAC Business Quarterly November 2011

We Would Like to Hear What You Think !

Electrical Systems and Services, Inc has been involved in the renewable energies movement for over 2 years. As you have been reading on this blog, during that time, ESS has done many wind turbine, solar systems and lighting projects in Southeast Wisconsin. These various projects have been done for business locations, as well as public and private schools and residential applications. The possibility for installation locations goes much further than that. Think of all of the energy saved if we had more renewable energy being used to heat our water for personal use, or heating water for a pool or hot tub or even the floors of our homes. Churches, Motel/Hotels, Restaurants, Apartments & Condos, Banks the list is endless when it comes to Renewable Energy potential.

Since you have been reading our blog, you know of some of these projects ESS has completed, and maybe many of you have seen these projects first hand. It certainly is a pretty thing to see, when you think of these renewable energy projects as saving us from the grips of depending on others for electricity.

Some of you have taken the time to comment on some of the postings, we appreciate your participation and observations.

We know that this blog receives many hits, so for this posting we are asking everyone to comment on your thoughts on the “Green Movement”. Ask yourself, "Is this Renewable Energy promotion all that it is talked up to be". We know that technology always has room for improvement, so please comment and tell us how you feel.

Solar and Wind Energy? ESS can help!

Looking at installing your first renewable energy system?

Well, if the system is designed, installed, and maintained properly, like we do at Electrical Systems and Services, it should be your only renewable energy system! I guess it comes down to this: There are many reasons not to generate your own electricity from the wind & sun, including significant economic, utility, and zoning barriers. But at the end of the day, we face certain truths: Fossil fuels are a limited energy resource, our current electric generation methods are compromising the rights of our future generations to inherit a healthy planet, and the cost of grid electricity will continue to go up.

Renewable energy gives us the ability to change this balance of power. We can make and use clean energy in our neighborhoods, on our farms, and at our businesses.

We  know that when all the costs are factored in, renewable energies are more economical than burning coal or splitting atoms, and we can feel good about it.

If you’re considering any renewable energy, I say great!

Wind & Solar energy are both remarkably simple and amazingly complex.


So do your homework. We can help, contact us at Electrical Systems and Services. We have all the resources to inform you with all you need to know about renewable energy projects.

An educated  consumer is the renewable energy dealer’s best friend.  And when your
system is up and running, you can take the time to sit back and enjoy.

GIFFORD SCHOOL - OFF GRID SOLAR POLE LIGHTS

GIFFORD SCHOOL GOES GREEN

Next time you find yourself traveling on Highway K thru Franksville, check out the 2 Solar Pole Lights at the west entrance to the Gifford School parking lot. The project was a part of the overall parking lot restructure. The off - grid lights were installed instead of using the old "wired to the grid" lighting system that uses electricity supplied by WE Energies. Working with Racine Unified School District, ESS located, assembled and installed the lights. The LED lights use only solar power to light the entrance to the school parking lot.

Great Job RUSD & Gifford School.

All of your current and past students, teachers & staff can be proud of the fact that Gifford School is doing its part to go "GREEN"

SOME "GREEN" NUMBERS TO SAVE YOU SOME "GREEN"

Be Seen with Green

“Focus On Energy” Rebate Offer for LED Retrofit Fixtures


We are excited to show you how in just a few minutes you can go green and start saving money and energy. And with the current Wisconsin “Focus on Energy” Rebate offers, going green has never been so easy.
It’s as simple as taking out your old incandescent light bulb, and replacing it with a LED Retrofit Fixture and start being seen with green. These LED lights are cutting edge technology, which will increase your energy profile in the eyes of your customers; providing them with a first-hand example of leading energy efficiency technology. These lights install directly into, your existing Edison-base sockets, and can be self- installed; eliminating all installation costs.

How simple is it to save money and energv by simply installing LED retrofit fixtures?

•  Let’s assume you have 25, 75 watt incandescent lights that run for an average of 12 hours 
•  That means those lights consume (25 x 75 x 12) 22,500 Watts every day.
•  This leads to 675,000 Watts every month!
• At $0.16 per kW, it costs you $108.00 every month on your electric bill.

•  Now let’s assume you replace those incandescent lights with a 12 watt LED retrofit fixture.
•  The LED lights consume (25 x 12 x 12) 3,600 Watts per day.
• This leads to 108,000 watts per month.
•  At $0.16 per kW, it only costs $17.28 per month

•  That’s an energy savings of $90.72 each and every month by just taking a few minutes to install the new 12 Watt LED Retrofit fixture.

The savings are not over yet:

• The average Life of an incandescent bulb is 750-1000 hrs.
• Based on an estimated 12 hours per day of use, your average light bulb lasts 84 days.
•  This means that each bulb needs to be replaced 4 times per year per fixture.
•  That is 100 new light bulbs each and every year!
•  At an average of $2.00 per bulb and add a labor cost of $2.00 per bulb installed, you will spend $400.00 per year just on new bulbs and installation.
• This averages out to be a cost of $33.33 each month on old inefficient light bulbs.
• The manufacturers stated lifespan of the LED down light retrofit fixture is 50,000 hrs.
•  Based on your estimated 12 hours per day of use, your LED down light retrofit fixture will last 4167 days, or 11.4 years,
• This fixture requires no maintenance, which means no additional cost every month.

Now let’s look at your savings every month:

•  Your energy saving per month is $90.72.
•  Your material and labor savings is $33.33 per month.
•  This is a total savings per month of $124.05.
•  This means in only 15.1 months, based on the total savings per month, the LED Retrofit Fixtures will have paid for themselves.

Save Energy and Money too !

At ESS ,we continue to find ways to help our customers save energy and money by designing and installing energy saving projects. Read the letter we received from Wisconsin Focus on Energy.