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In his victory speech, very early in the morning on Wednesday November 9th, president elect Donald Trump made several key points that offer a bright spot for U.S. clean technology manufacturers. Trump said, “Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spent my entire life and business looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world. That is now what I want to do for our country.”
Rebuilding is excellent, and so is seizing untapped potential. With rebuilding comes an opportunity to install the latest energy-efficient technology in Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), insulation, smart-controls, and lighting. The potential is massive with over 3 billion square feet of U.S. government facilities within the almost 90 billion square feet of total U.S. real estate.
Trump, added the next layer of detail when he said, “We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals…And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it. We will also finally take care of our great veterans.”
The reference specifically to tunnels, airports, and hospitals caught our attention at GREENandSAVE, because those building types typically all run around the clock with 24 x 7 operations. Thus is relevant for clean technology, because Light Emitting Diode (LED) commercial fixtures and replacement tubes and bulbs, have a higher Return on Investment (ROI) for longer run time facilities. The LEDs literally work harder to save electricity in buildings that have long run times, just as an energy-efficient car works harder to save gasoline when the owner has a long commute. LEDs typically have paybacks in under 3 years, without subsidies required by solar and other technologies to mathematically work for end users.
We asked the CEO of a leading US manufacturer of LED lighting, Independence LED Lighting (www.IndependenceLED.com) for a comment. Charlie Szoradi, said the following today from his Greater Philadelphia area facility, “I stayed up to watch president-elect Donald Trump’s speech. His references to working together and rebuilding infrastructure so early in the speech were welcomed at the highest level. Since moving our manufacturing from China to southeastern Pennsylvania in 2010, our team has been pleased to see the early adoption of our technology across the U.S. military, civilian agencies, municipalities, and the private sector.” Mr. Szoradi goes on to say, “However, the vast majority of U.S. government and commercial real estate still does not have energy-saving LED lights. The Trump administration can ‘look up’ at the ceilings for the untapped potential and usher in a new generation of cost-cutting and job creation. We have multiple U.S. veterans on our team, and a concerted roll-out for lighting retrofits will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across America. Our dream of a brighter future is within sight!”
President-elect Trump asked for “guidance” in his speech, and here is a FIVE STAR set of points to for the Trump transition team to consider:
#1: Start to research the best path forward with clean-tech, based on ROI, in order to hit the ground running in early 2017. Here are two page for inspiration with hundreds of hours of ROI research:
Residential: http://greenandsave.com/master-roi-table
Commercial: http://greenandsave.com/greenoffice/master-roi
#2: Look for the “low hanging fruit” of retrofits vs rebuilding to secure some early cost-saving wins. Certainly, changing the lights is easier than fixing a major bridge.
#3: Don’t forget about the 3 billion square feet of government properties. President Trump can walk the talk when it comes to the federal agency offices and cut the operating costs in each one to help meet the goals of his economic plan.
#4: Make a list of the US manufacturers that can add value to fixing the inner cities and “energy intelligence” for the property types referenced in the speech.
#5: Create a Trump “Smart Energy Team” - S.E.T. TO GO…that includes manufacturers with actual experience, vs academics without practical knowledge. Trump knows the value of getting your hands dirty from his experience in real estate. Plus, this team could run point on addressing points #1, 2, 3, and 4 above.
Given the reference to LED lighting at the top of this article, the information below focuses on cost-effective waste reduction across the 3.4 billion square feet of U.S. government real estate, with the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Americans across the total 87 billion square feet of U.S. buildings.
The Tactic: Change the lights
The Challenges:
- Lack of awareness about the opportunity for savings and job creation
- Focus on energy production vs energy savings
- Bureaucratic friction
The Results:
- 580,000 new jobs
- $287 billion in energy savings
- 2.6 trillion in kilowatt hour savings
- 3.4 trillion lbs of CO2 emissions reduction
- 30 million cars taken off the road relative to emissions reduction
The tactic is simple. Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology cuts energy waste by 50% to 85% and lasts many times longer than traditional lights. The illumination industry has the tools at hand with the proven track record of savings performance. The payback is typically within three years vs 10 or more years for renewable power production via solar panels. The private sector now offers $0 upfront cost financing options with cash flow positive results from the start. The ripple effect of jobs from manufacturing to energy auditing and from project management to installation is higher than most other industries. The size of the work is literally in the billions of square feet. The scope is equally large, with lighting often accounting for 25% or more of the electricity for public and private sector properties. Even with all these advantages, LED lighting was not raised as an intelligent solution for job creation and waste reduction during the presidential campaign by any of the leading candidates.
The challenges are complex. Lighting is not sub-metered, so it is buried in the utility bills among air conditioning, computers, and countless devise chargers. Measurement is the key to management, and savings starts with counting the lights to assess the current operating expense relative to more efficient replacements. Hillary Clinton talked about installing half a billion new solar panels, but her advisors failed to identify that energy reduction is far more cost-effective than renewable energy production. President-elect Trump can use clean technology is an excellent path to new American job creation. Current government employees have paid the energy bills for so many years that they have failed to identify the extent of tax-payer dollars that are wasted each month on outdated lights. How many government bureaucrats does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Way too many. The layers of decision making are numerous and thick, for something as simple as upgrading the lights.
The results are exceptional. The massive government real estate footprint, including military facilities, represents about 4% of the total U.S. real estate, according to the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Many of the new jobs created would involve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), and these clean-technology jobs are foundational for 21st century careers. Beyond the jobs and cost savings, changing the lights is also one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions.
Bonus: Support for our veterans. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) collectively occupy more than 2.2 billion sq. ft. of buildings, which is two thirds of the federal government property. Our veterans deserve living wage jobs, and they can engage to save the government over a billion dollars each year. The savings can help staff VA medical centers and clinics that are in dire need of improving the healthcare for all those that have served to protect our freedom.
Summary: We do not have to wait to get started. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), there are over 2.3 billion fluorescent tubes in American ceilings. Cutting the operating cost in half is simply a good idea. The tactical solution is at hand to cut out the cancer of energy waste and create many jobs in the process. Donald Trump can lead on American manufacturing, and next generation LED lighting presents an opportunity to demonstrate leadership early in his first term.
Calculation Info:
Industry average data points for calculation of the results from LED retrofits:
LED retrofit cost / sq ft: $1
LED annual savings / sq ft: $.33 (87 billion sq ft x $.33 saved = $28.7 billion saved / year)
LED Life: 10 Years
10 Year Savings ($28.7 billion saved x 10 years = $287 billion in energy savings over LED life)
LED retrofit budget for 1 new job: $150,000
Jobs Created ($87 billion / $150,000 = 580,000 jobs created over retrofit period)
Avg U.S. Cost / kWh: $.11
Avg kWh Saved / $1 Saved: 9.09 kWh ($1 Saved / $.11 cost per kWh = 9.09 kWh saved)
10 Year kWh impact across America ($287 billion x 9.09 kWh = 2.6 trillion kWh)
Cross reference calculations for kWh savings
Avg watt savings / sq ft: .625w
Annual hours of operation: 4,600h (blend of single shift and longer run time areas)
(Calculation: .625w/1,000 x 4,600h = 2.875 kWh saved / year / sq ft)
87 billion x 2.875 = 250 billion kWh / year x 10 years = 2.5 trillion kWh
Avg CO2 lbs of emission reduction / kWh Saved: 1.341 lbs
Annual CO2 lbs of emission reduction (250 billion kWh x 1.341 lbs = 335 billion lbs)
10 year CO2 impact across America (2.5 trillion kWh x 1.341 lbs = 3.4 trillion lbs over LED life)
CO2 emissions / car / year: 5.5 tons (5.5 tons x 2,000 lbs / ton = 11,000 lbs / year)
Equivalent cars taken off the road: (335 billion annual lbs / 11,000 lbs = 30,454,545 cars)
Sources:
3,402,248,000 sq ft. of Government Real Estate
General Services Administration
Comprehensive report with the size of real estate by agencies
http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/ogp/FY_2010_FRPP_Report_Final.pdf
87,043,000,000 sq. ft. of US Commercial
US Energy Information Administration
Comprehensive report with the size of real estate by property type in the private sector
http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2012/index.cfm?view=characteristics#b3
Table B7. Building size, floorspace
Commercial Building Energy Consumption:
http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2012/bc/cfm/b7.cfm
2,385,399,000 fluorescent tubes in American ceilings:
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Report released January 2012: Number and Length of Linear Fluorescent Tubes across major U.S. Property Sectors: Appendix #5:
