In the last two years, numerous corporations and businesses have undertaken LED lighting retrofitting projects to reduce the amount of energy consumed on lighting. Light emitting diode (LED) lights offer many advantages over traditional lights, such as lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved strength and easier maintenance.
LEDs produce more light per watt than incandescent bulbs and can be easily dimmed. Unlike some traditional lighting, LEDs can emit light of a particular color without the use of color filters and do not contain mercury. Initial costs can be offset by significant savings in reduced energy and maintenance costs. Programs are available now for rebates, funding and savings-share programs.
Red Robin Restaurants replaced approximately 12,000 incandescent and halogen lights in more than 150 of its restaurants with energy efficient LED lights, saving the restaurant chain as much as $120,000 per year on lighting bills, Environmental Leader reported July 29. Red Robin said the lighting retrofits will save more than 5.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
In addition to lowering total demand for electricity, Red Robin is also piloting solar panels at three of its restaurants in Colorado restaurants to reduce its reliance on power plants that generate harmful emissions.
Environmental Leader states that Red Robin’s new lamps cut energy use up to 77 percent and last more than six times longer than their incandescent counterparts. Red Robin added that in addition to energy savings the new LED lights cut down on maintenance costs.
In early 2009, Environmental Leader reported that the city of Los Angeles was underway with a five-year plan to retrofit 140,000 streetlights with LED bulbs. The $57 million project involves the Outdoor Lighting Program of the Clinton Climate Initiative.
Last year, more than 300 Hardee’s restaurants underwent a lighting retrofit to reduce energy consumption and utility bills.
Other companies such as Gap Inc. have switched to energy-efficient light bulbs at its distribution centers or facilities to save millions of dollars annually in electricity cost. AT&T opted to retrofit 7,000 company signs on office and retail buildings, translating into a savings of 5.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
