Lighting

Depending on your type of business lighting will account for 20% to as much as 50% of your electricity consumption. Significant cost savings can be achieved with lighting improvements.

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF YOUR LIGHTING:
A good system directs appropriate lighting where and when you need it, and it does so efficiently. Lighting costs you on your utility bill in several ways. You pay directly for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) used by a light, your lighting contributes to your demand (under certain utility rates you pay for that), and all lighting creates heat which could negatively affect your HVAC load. Do you have outdated fluorescent lights and ballasts? Do you have HID high bay lights where maybe fluorescents should be used? M3E can help you decide whether or not making your lighting more efficient would be a sensible project.

Lighting controls can be key components of energy management. Controls could include multi-level lighting, dimmers, and occupancy sensors.

The payback period for lighting efficiency upgrades, controls, and occupancy sensors typically falls in the 2-3 year range. There are tax incentives and rebate programs that M3E will apply to your project as appropriate. If you would like for M3E to assess your lighting system and work to make it more efficient, contact us, and here is what you should expect:

	Site visit and interview about characteristics of use and potential for savings
	Analysis of what is and what could be
	Estimate of work to be done and savings that would be realized
	Information on government and utility incentives available for certain installations
	Quality installation of your new efficient system components
	Energy and dollar savings

For an excellent review of efficient lighting technologies, visit this "business.gov" site.

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