After the earthquake and associated damage at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, researchers began investigating the nation’s energy consumption and saving methods. A study lead by the Institute of Energy Economics, overseen by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, determined that if every fluorescent and incandescent light in Japan was replaced with an LED lamp, the country could reduce its energy consumption by 9%. The IEE concluded there are 1.6 billion lights used in Japan, which account for 150.6 kilowatts per hour of energy. If Japan replaced all its lighting with LEDs, the country would slash its energy consumption to 58.4 billion kilowatts per hour, with the greatest amount of savings in office buildings.

In Osaka Prefecture in Japan, LED lighting has been installed at a park on the Kizu River. Brand new 25-watt Philips Lumiled 25-watt LED lamps replaced high-pressure mercury lamps throughout the park, reducing electricity bills by 88%. The brightness of the new lamps, according to Gizmag.com, is comparable to the mercury lamps, but with much more uniform lighting than the old lamps. The LEDs can be targeted at the ground or at a specific location without any light escaping above the lamp, which also reduces light pollution.

LED Lighting is playing an important role in energy consumption reduction around the world. With the lessons learned in Japan after a natural disaster many countries are becoming proactive.

Here at Relumination, we try to keep up with the latest LED lighting industry and installation news through our blogs and news posts. Though we have written many blogs about it in the past, one of the more popular installations of LEDs in cities, and even small towns, is street lighting. The benefits of LED street lights definitely outweigh the costs! The lights have a brighter, whiter light than the dim, yellowish hue street lights usually have, and some can also be dimmed. They also consume less than half as much energy as high pressure sodium lights.

Arizona has been installing LEDs all over the state, including 425 LED street lights in Kingman last March. The city has 900 high pressure sodium street lights, most that consume250 watts, but some produce 400 watts. Though the installation will only cover about half of the lights, the city is expected to decrease energy production by at least 40%. City officials did a pilot of different LED lights and an induction light to judge their performance and light quality. The city officials were most impressed with LEDs and the citizens appreciated the “softer light” This project is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

In the Okemos downtown area in Michigan, citizens recently gathered to “Turn on the Lights” of their 25 new LED street lights. Paul Brake, executive director of the Okemos Downtown Development Authority, said the new LED lighting is “one step closer” to becoming a “green” township through cutting energy consumption and carbon emissions. The new LEDs will consume approximately 59% less energy than incandescent lamps, said an article from the Towne Courier. This project was also partially funded through the U.S. DOE EECBS.

Hospitals: a building that absolutely needs to be illuminated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no better and cost effective choice for lighting than LEDs. Hospitals see the usual benefits from solid state lighting, including a decrease in electricity and maintenance costs, plus more! In MRI rooms, LED lights are optimal because they aren’t affected by the magnetic fields of the machines and have long lifetimes so that hospitals do not have to worry about the room being occupied constantly by maintenance workers. Many LED lamps are dimmable, which is perfect for CAT scan and ultrasound rooms.

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In the August 5th, 2011 edition of the Phoenix Business Journal we were featured in an article about LED lighting and the local market.

You can read the online version of the article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/print-edition/2011/08/05/scottsdale-entrepreneur-focuses-on.html

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Phoenix Business Journal on news stands all over the Valley.

A project we recently completed in Tempe, Arizona lead to great interest in the self-storage community. We were approached by Inside Self Storage magazine to do an article about the project and energy efficient lighting. Check out the article here: http://www.insideselfstorage.com/articles/2011/07/energyefficient-lighting-helps-selfstorage-owners-save-money-and-better-serve-customers.aspx

We will also be in the September print issue – so pick up a copy when it comes out!

Black & Veatch, a corporation known for its global engineering and construction, recently released its 2011 Electric Utility Survey. Black & Veatch surveyed 700 electric utility industry executives about their thoughts about the future of industry, such as utility pricing, electric vehicles, nuclear and wind power and much more. In terms of electricity, 70% of these industry executives said electricity prices will be rising considerably over the next five years. This isn’t great news for consumers who have to use electricity every day! What is even more disheartening is that these industry leaders also said that because the United States does not have a national energy policy, they have no incentive to spend more on creating new technology or more energy efficient appliances. The biggest incentives to invest in new technology are “regulatory requirements” and “government incentives.”

So what can we do to prepare for this increase in electricity prices over the next five years? Start making cuts in electricity consumption now! Much of our electricity comes from lighting, so why not invest in LEDs? Many LED lamps consume 70-80% less energy than incandescent lamps. An 12-watt LED typically gives off the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent lamp! The warm, bright LED lamps are also more durable than incandescent lamps and are not harmful to the environment like CFLs. Invest in LED lighting now… It will save you a lot now and even more in the future!

PHOENIX, AZ–(Marketwire – Jun 22, 2011) – The Tempe Storage Company contracted Relumination, LLC, the LED lighting solutions company, to update their exterior lighting with energy efficient lighting to significantly reduce energy costs and improve lighting quality for their customers. As a result, the self-storage facility reduced their lighting electricity consumption by 87%.

In addition to the energy savings, the installed LED lighting increases onsite security and provides a brighter night-time loading and unloading environment for personal and business customers. Tempe Storage Company’s LED lights have improved on the ground lighting by 20% on average.

“We want to provide our community a safe, secure place to store their personal and business valuables and better lighting helps us deliver upon our customer satisfaction promise,” said Terry Blakemore, owner of Tempe Storage Company. “We are able to pass along our reduced energy savings to our customers by keeping our monthly rental prices very competitive, especially considering we are Tempe’s newest storage facility.”

Relumination provided a full lighting energy consumption assessment, recommendations, implementation, and utility rebate processing and post-installation verification. Tempe Storage Company asked Relumination to replace all of the 215w HPS exterior lights at the self-storage facility with 26w LED fixtures which reduced the watts usage from 8,800 to 1,144 per hour. Tempe Storage Company also reduced future lighting-related maintenance expenses with the installation of LED lamps that have a 12-year estimated life span.

“Relumination lighting solutions for self-storage facilities make a positive impact on their bottom-line,” said Daniel Henderson, CEO of Relumination. “Our clients typically see triple digit return on investment within the first three years of retrofitting their lighting with LED solutions.”

Tempe Storage Company projects annual electricity savings and reduction in maintenance expenses to total nearly $4,000 per year with anticipated full ROI in just 30 months. In addition to the eligibility for a 100% tax deduction through The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, the Arizona self-storage facility used utility rebates to pay for 20% of the upgrade project.

LED lighting retrofitting is a popular way for businesses to save on energy costs, as LED lights consume on average 50 to 80 percent less energy in comparison to traditional lighting. Additional savings for businesses include reductions in energy consumption, maintenance and replacement costs, as LED lights average 50,000 hours of use and produce very little heat.

The Relumination Lighting Energy Efficiency Program (LEEP) reduces the initial capital investment and provides organizations immediate benefits of LED lighting retrofitting to rapidly increase the return on investment on the lighting upgrade.

About Relumination — Relumination, LLC is a lighting technologies solutions company that helps customers reduce energy costs, save electricity, minimize facilities management expenses and decrease their environmental footprint. We provide reliable and sustainable LED products and services that exceed quality standards of reducing energy consumption by up to 90%. Our valued customers are in various industries from manufacturing to retail. The company privately held and headquartered in Arizona. www.relumination.com

About Tempe Storage Company — Tempe Storage Company provides self-storage facilities and amenities for personal and business use, including special programs for ASU students. The company provides fully air conditioned units, electronically secured, storage solutions with 24 hour video surveillance, ample LED exterior lighting, personal access codes, and on site management quarters. The new facility is located at 810 South McClintock Drive in Tempe, Arizona. For more information call(480) 776-5555 or visit www.tempestoragecompany.com.

As part of California State University at Fullerton’s goal of becoming an all LED campus, the university is installing LED lights in a six-level parking structure near campus, the roadway near the parking structure, and along the walkway from the parking structure to the campus. Occupancy sensors will be installed on most of the 151 fixtures in the parking garage because the lights have to be on 24 hours every day commuter and residential students. The lights will power down to a lower energy setting when no one is in the parking garage. Doug Kind, the university’s manager of commissioning and energy compared the new LED lighting with an identical building powered with fluorescent lighting and found that the LEDs used 50% less energy than the fluorescent lights! Because the parking structure’s lighting was below California’s Title 24 Energy Code, $120,000 of energy incentives were granted to be used toward the project. In fact, the structure only consumes 20% of the amount of energy allowed in Title 24!

In the next phase of California State University at Fullerton’s project, the school will begin replacing metal halide fixtures around campus with 1,000 LED fixtures over the next 18 months. The new LED lights will be installed on roadways, parking lots, pedestrian areas, and other streets around campus. One of the great features of these lights is they will be controlled by a remote given to campus security, who will be able to increase and decrease lighting in certain areas. For example, if there is an evening event, campus security can be sure the lights are at full power for guests on campus.

McDonald’s, an American classic fast food destination serving up hamburgers since 1955, is making some sustainable changes to its restaurants. As a national member of the United States Green Building Council, many McDonald’s restaurants have obtained Gold LEED certifications for its changes. For example, North Carolina’s first green McDonald’s restaurant in Cary tore down its old restaurant and built a new sustainable building according to LEED regulations. For its lighting, the McDonald’s uses a combination of Cree LEDs and skylights, reducing energy consumption by 78%. The photo sensors on the lights ensures there are appropriate light levels in the dining room and kitchen areas of the restaurant, and is also fully automated so that employees don’t have to worry about touching the lights! Cree’s LEDs can be found in the dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, hallways, drive-thru, and even the parking lot!

The lighting isn’t the only sustainable feature in Cary’s McDonald’s. When the old McDonald’s was demolished, 99% of the debris was either recycled or reused in building the new restaurant! The counters in the restaurant are made from recycled glass and concrete, and the kitchen and bathrooms have water-saving appliances installed, such as low-flow toilets. The landscaping outside includes plants and trees that require little or no water, reducing water usage by 550,000 gallons each year! The parking lot is paved with recycled concrete, and there are special parking spots for hybrid vehicles and charging stations for electric cars. Tables and wall decorations throughout the dining room were created from sunflower seed board, wheat board, kirei board, and bamboo.

Other McDonald’s restaurants nationwide are also making similar changes. Look out for the new “green” McDonald’s!

You may have seen a Lighting Facts label on an LED lamp package recently and wondered what exactly makes an LED product special enough to have this label. Lighting Facts is a voluntary pledge program geared toward ensuring LED products are accurately represented in the market. Lighting manufacturers can choose to send their products to Lighting Facts to test the performance of the lamp, including the light output, power consumed, lumens per watt, color of the lamp, and more. Lighting Facts then prints the results of the testing either on the package or in an instructional insert so consumers can see unbiased testing results of LED products.

Lighting Facts also published its bi-annual Product Snapshot for LED Replacement Lamps this May. The program takes data from Lighting Facts-approved products and weighs in the differences of the performance of LED replacement lamps and standard lamps, and compares that to the performance levels mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In the product snapshot, Lighting Facts compared the prices and payback times of halogen, CFL and LED lamps. While halogens consume 30% less energy than incandescent lamps, their high initial cost pays off near the end of the lamp’s lifetime. CFLs consume 75% less energy, and their return on investment pays off in a little more than a year if bought in a multipack, but only last 10,000 hours. Because of the high price of LEDs right now, payback occurs after six years, which really push consumers away from purchasing them. The Department of Energy is predicting that LED lamps may cost as little as $5 in the next decade, making their payback period also less than a year! We hope LED lighting becomes the most affordable lighting in the future!

For more information about the product snapshot, visit lightingfacts.com