Up to $1.9 Million in annual energy and maintenance savings with GE LED lighting.
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - Oct. 7, 2012
Public Storage LED sign.
From a GE Lighting Release, Public Storage is expected to save up to $1.9 million in lighting costs annually after changing the way it illuminates its exterior signage. The company recently began replacing existing T12HO fluorescent lamps with GE Lighting’s LED sign lighting solutions at its more than 2,000 locations. Its bright orange and purple box signs and pole signs help the company stand out. With as many as eight signs at each property, electricity and maintenance costs quickly add up.
Multiple single or multi-story buildings at each location have made standardize lighting difficult. Public Storage initially considered switching to T8 fluorescent lamps, but chose to focus on LED sign lighting as prices have become more competitive and light quality improved. After meeting with several manufacturers and reviewing data on a number of LED products, Public Storage chose GE Tetra PowerStrip LED sign lighting to replace the T12 fluorescent tubes in its single-sided and double-sided box signs at each of its more than 2,000 properties.
Approximately 150 locations will be retrofitted this year with all properties completed over the next three to five years. Each property is expected to reduce sign lighting energy consumption by 73 percent, saving an average of $799 per property over five years (based on a $.11 kWh electricity rate and 10 hours of use per day).
Less maintenance = even more savings
With a 50,000-hour life rating or the equivalent of more than 13 years at 10 hours of use per day, Public Storage anticipates even larger savings to come from reduced maintenance costs. The average lifespan for its current signage bulbs is approximately three years and cost an average of $500 to $800 per year per facility for maintenance, Public Storage has the potential to save between $1 and $1.6 million in annual maintenance costs alone.
The GE Tetra PowerStrip LED sign lighting system also offers easy installation through a low-voltage rail system that does not require the construction of sockets for mounting. The system can be cut for easy installation in retrofit signs of any size. The system delivers improved visual performance through OptiLens – a patented optical lens technology that helps spread light across a wide viewing angle for uniform light distribution across the entire sign face.
While I know little about the actual construction, lumens or color output of the GE Tetra PowerStrip LED sign lighting system, it sounds like it will be a lot more energy conscious and far less maintenance intensive for Public Storage anyway?
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