Simply by switching to energy-efficient lighting in their tall buildings, businesses in leading cities in the United States could save the country—and themselves—billions of dollars, says Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc.
(Clearwater, FL) April 16, 2015 — Energy-efficient lighting has the potential to reduce costs to businesses and consumers across the board while reducing the strain on natural resources. According to a recent study by energy market research firm E Source, office buildings in the U.S. spend an annual average of $1.34 per square foot on electricity and 18 cents per square foot on natural gas. In a typical office building, lighting, heating and cooling represent between 54 and 71 percent of total use (depending on climate), making those systems the best targets for energy savings.1 Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc. (http://www.consumerenergysolutions.com/) (CES), one of the nation’s foremost full-service energy consulting companies, is encouraging a switch to lower-cost lighting in sky-high commercial buildings that will not only save money, but also bring businesses into compliance with a growing body of government regulation.
As the demand for energy has significantly increased over the past 30 years, a strong resistance has also developed on the part of the general public to the construction of power plants near populated areas, prompting the government to promote the use of energy-efficient products in order to extend the use of existing power plants and temporarily avoid the need to build new ones. One specific area the government is addressing for nationwide energy efficiency efforts is commercial lighting.
Most large office buildings currently use conventional, inefficient lighting—24 hours a day—despite the fact that LED lighting (http://www.consumerenergysolutions.com/led-lighting/) is 50% more energy efficient and lasts three to five times as long, thus saving energy and significantly reducing the waste problem. To give some idea of the difference that a change to energy-efficient lighting could make, CES, extrapolating from the formula above, has calculated the total potential savings from a conversion to LED lighting in the office buildings of the nation’s most heavily developed cities: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Honolulu, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Arlington, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Detroit, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Miami Beach, St. Louis, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Portland, Cincinnati, Austin, Milwaukee, Nashville, Kansas City, Cleveland, New Orleans and Newark.
According to Emporis Research, these cities collectively contain 13,712 high-rise buildings, with individual totals ranging from 6,053 (New York) to 100 (Newark).2 Assuming an average building height of twelve stories—for most of these cities, a significant underestimate—a switch to LED lighting would yield an aggregate savings of $3.65 billion over the course of five years.
Per Pat Clouden, CEO of CES, the case for energy-efficient lighting is clear and compelling. Companies can use lease-purchase agreements to amortize the cost of replacement over time, yielding immediate—and permanent—cost reductions. For the sake of their own bottom line—not to mention the overall economy and the environment—CES encourages owners and operators of high-rise office buildings to make this change as soon as possible.
Clouden states, “The government is strongly promoting the idea of energy efficiency (http://www.consumerenergysolutions.com/commercial-energy/), both to slow the demand for increased energy production and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the environment. Companies that can show a reduction—or a slowed rate of increase—in carbon dioxide emission can obtain tax credits from the government. Utility companies, in turn, are strongly motivated to financially subsidize the use of energy-efficient products in both the commercial and residential sectors.”
At the same time, on the consumer side, it has been calculated that light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs costs $7.97 for electricity per month—less than a sixth of the electricity cost of traditional incandescent bulbs3; commercially, the potential savings are even greater. CES recently conducted a lighting audit for a client that involved replacing T‑8 fluorescent tubes with equivalent LED lighting; in an area with 300 tubes—the size of a floor in an average-sized office building—the switch yielded a savings in electricity of $4,436.50 per year.
CES has been on the forefront of LED conversion since the technology first became commercially available, and was recently sought out for comment as the innovative lighting becomes the standard, with Clouden stating, “It’s both encouraging and satisfying to see what was once regarded as a fad become the ‘new normal.’”4
CES has transitioned from selling primarily to residential customers to selling primarily to businesses, and has become one of the nation’s leading full-service energy consulting companies. Along the way, it has been a pioneer not only in helping its customers negotiate the best and most appropriate per-unit energy purchase arrangements, but also in helping them to reduce consumption through commercial energy saving programs and commercial LED lighting.
About Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc.:
Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc. (CES) is one of the nation’s foremost full-service energy consulting companies, with over two million residential and 300,000 commercial customers across the United States and Canada, including many Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 1999 by Patrick J. Clouden, CES transitioned in 2004 from selling primarily to residential customers to selling primarily to businesses. The company’s long-standing relationships with the largest independent energy suppliers in the U.S., coupled with its unparalleled knowledge of the industry, gives CES customers access to the most competitive electricity and natural gas rates available in their area. CES is dedicated to educating its customers about the choices available to them as energy consumers, and to helping them, in a volatile energy market, to balance short-term savings against long-term risk. The company’s mission is to assist its commercial clients in better managing their energy costs so as to add to their bottom line. CES is an industry leader in providing its clients with effective strategies and solutions to reduce energy costs. References are available upon request. For more information, visit www.consumerenergysolutions.com.
- Managing Energy Costs in Office Buildings,” E‑Source Companies, 2002. nationalgridus.com/non_html/shared_energyeff_office.pdf.
- “Skyline Ranking,” Emporis Research, 2015. emporis.com/statistics/skyline-ranking.
- “How Much Money Can You Save by Switching to Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs?”, Xcel Energy of Minnesota. connect.xcelenergy.com/minnesota/how-much-money-can-you-save-by-switching-to-energy-efficient-light-bulbs/.
- Crouse, Megan. “When Will Energy Efficiency Become ‘Normal?’“ N.p., 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. pddnet.com/news/2015/04/when-will-energy-efficiency-become-normal.
