State of the Region:

An Open Letter to the Lighting Industry

Charlie Szoradi is the Chairman and CEO of Independence LED, a Pennsylvania-based commercial lighting company that has developed an LED replacement for fluorescent tubes.

Did you know that the average American small business could save as much as $5,000 per year by becoming 25 percent more energy efficient? That’s what a study by the National Small Business Association discovered. It also found that if all small businesses made this effort, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 259 million tons -- or the equivalent of 51 coal-fired power plants!

Everyone benefits from people using less energy (besides the utility company’s bottom line), people benefit by reducing their utility cost & the earth and all its inhabitants benefit by having a multitude of positive happenings by reducing our usage.

Today there are more and more businesses switching to energy efficient lighting. Examples of major companies making that change are Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Caesars Entertainment, The Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco, Home Depot, etc. So, why the sudden surge in energy efficient lighting retrofits?

In 2007, San Diego Gas & Electric pioneered an innovative zero percent loan program that allowed businesses as well as institutional and government customers to finance new energy-efficient equipment on their utility bills.

A significant assault on health and environmental protection is underway in Congress.

Winter is my favorite season, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being cold. I appreciate a well-heated home -- and I’m definitely not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average American household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills, with half of it going towards heating.