Modest energy savings can go a long way for a company that operates heavy machinery, which tends to draw large amounts of electricity. When Sustainable Lighting Solutions presented Round Ground Metals with a solution that would save the company more than $60,000 annually, it was just a matter of timing and planning to get the lighting replaced.

Round Ground Metals first began working with Sustainable Lighting Solutions in late 2015. The 28-year-old family-owned company makes “round bars rounder” and has a rich history of delivering a quality product at a fair market price. Like all manufacturers working with steel, market forces can shift spending priorities, even when the value is known and respected.

“It was a major investment,” says Mirek Krynski, Round Ground Metals, Inc. Maintenance Supervisor. The company’s two Hanover Park, IL buildings comprise 130,000 square feet and operate 20 hours a day, typically five days a week.

“And, it was a major project. Given our inventory, machines, and how long our working hours are, we needed to make sure the time was right,” says Krynski.

The company needed a bit of time to plan for the capital expense, logistics, and planning required to execute. Round Ground Metals green-lighted the project a year after first meeting, recognizing that the utility savings combined with the anticipation of better light merited project approval, Krynski says.

“We have a lot of machinery that guzzles up a lot of electricity,” Krynski says. “Changing the lighting would help employees, as well as the bottom line.”

The project would take several weeks to complete, with installation primarily occurring on the weekends. Sustainable Lighting Solutions installed more than 238 fixtures, including LED high bays, LED wallpacks, LED pole fixtures, and motion sensors. Most of the installation occurred within the two buildings, but Sustainable Lighting Solutions also installed exterior fixtures. Of the total project cost of $30,624.06, Sustainable Lighting Solutions secured a ComEd incentive that covered almost 70% of the cost. RGM is forecasted to save more than $62,000 in electricity costs alone.

“Employees come and go early in the morning and late at night, and they really appreciated that we improved the lighting outside,” Krynski says. “The women were especially grateful, because during the winter when it’s really dark and cold they felt safer, and didn’t fear possibly slipping on the ice when they were headed to their cars.”

The lighting even highlighted some of the blemishes that any building experiences when grinding metals, says Krynski, who joked that a few walls needed to be cleaned after the installation. Overall the reaction from employees has been exceptional, he says.

For Krynski, he’s happy that the reduced maintenance required by the new lighting means that his team is not spending a lot of time replacing lights. He estimates that once a month a fixture would be changed out when a transformer or bulb would blow. And given the size of the facility it wasn’t a step ladder kind of job, he says.

“The new lighting is saving maintenance a lot of headaches,” Krynski says, but more important employees can see better and the new lighting has improved morale. “They appreciate the investment.”

Krynski says that other companies bid on the project, but Sustainable Lighting Solutions’ willingness to help people see in order to believe is what set them apart.

“Sustainable Lighting Solutions installed a sample fixture and right away people wanted them. Seeing really is believing and when they hung those fixtures people could see what type of change would happen,” Krynski says.

Nearly 10 years ago, Burr Ridge-based Kiser Controls Co. declined a potential overhaul of its fluorescent lighting to LED because it cost too much. That changed this year when a supplier referred Kiser to a state program that rewards companies for reducing energy consumption.

As Michael Daniels, Kiser Controls Co. Purchasing and Inventory Control Manager, says, he didn’t expect a routine replacement of fluorescent lighting to result in a complete overhaul of the interior and exterior lighting for this west suburban industrial supply house. Daniels learned about the small business program with ComEd through his lighting supply company. After researching the program, he was referred to Sustainable Lighting Solutions, a certified trade ally.

Kiser Controls Co. primarily supplies manufacturers in northwest Indiana and northern Illinois with industrial supplies, from air valves to vacuum pumps. Its 10,000-square foot building includes professional offices and a warehouse, and is typically lit five days a week for 12 hours a day. The interior was lit with fluorescent lights and the exterior with metal halide.

Kiser Controls Co. President Kerry Kiser says the interior lighting had become inconsistent because replacement bulbs were commonly replaced with those manufactured by different companies. Some employees had twisted the fluorescent bulbs off because they didn’t like the light, and other areas such as the warehouse would certainly benefit from greater coverage. Kiser was also concerned about the safety outside the building when the metal halide lighting repeatedly burned out.

When Daniels presented the proposal to convert to LED, Kiser said the decision was a “no brainer”. Kiser received more than $14,000 in energy efficiency incentives through ComEd. The Smart Ideas program is funded by Illinois consumers and businesses that pay an energy efficiency fee each month. Daniels and Kiser appreciated the fact that Kiser Controls was able to receive funding from a program that it already paid into.

After the install, “right away I recognized the color balance and the consistency of light throughout the building,” Kiser says. “We are really happy that we finally did it. It certainly didn’t make sense in 2007, but it did today.”

Sustainable Lighting Solutions installed more than 100 fixtures inside and outside the building. The new energy efficient lighting coupled with occupancy sensors will save Kiser Controls more than $5,400 annually in energy and maintenance costs. Sustainable Lighting Solutions presented Kiser Controls Co. with an Environmental Stewardship Award for the project’s impact, which will decrease its annual energy consumption by more than 50,000 kWh.

“When it was complete it was almost like walking into a brand-new office and feeling a jolt of energy and excitement. Everything looked so good,” Daniels says of the LED replacements.

Kiser agrees. Arriving to the office early in the morning and having such bright light throughout the office has certainly improved his outlook, he says. Moreover, the fact that Sustainable managed the incentive process with ComEd as well as disposed of all of the old fluorescent tubes was a bonus.

“Sustainable Lighting Solutions managed the project like we manage our customers,” Kiser says. “We want to do everything that we can to keep our customers focused on running their business, and Sustainable allowed us to do that.”

The lighting at Concentric AB’s manufacturing facility in Rockford, IL was similar to many other large spaces – either too bright or too dark, and certainly too expensive to power and maintain. Switching to a LED solution from SLS not only improved employees’ work environment, it saved the company close to $9k per month in energy and maintenance costs.

Concentric AB is one of the world’s leading pump manufacturers. Its Rockford, IL facility manufactures an array of hydraulic pumps and motors. The 20-acre campus, including the 125,000 square foot hydraulic plant, was built in 1964 and was undergoing a facelift. Manufacturing Engineer and Facility Manager Martin Moesgaard explained that most of the lighting was fluorescent and dated. Employees disliked it so much they often unscrewed the bulbs near their work spaces due to the glare on their computer screens.

“I called Sustainable Lighting Solutions to look into switching our fluorescent lighting over to LED,” Moesgaard says. SLS developed a plan that included sensors to save additional energy costs, and offered to install pilot light fixtures for the company to review before signing off on the full project. Once the new lighting was in place, employees responded immediately.

“Over the years, people just unscrewed the fluorescents. They didn’t like the glare on their computers. When the new lights were piloted, the engineers responded positively to the new fixtures and the even distribution of the light. They were asking to have the project done quickly” Moesgaard said.

Concentric employs 177 people at its Rockford campus, where the manufacturing plant runs in three shifts. Moesgaard was concerned about finding an optimal time for the installation, without causing disruption to operations, as well as how the new fixtures would fit into the building’s 1964 drop-down ceiling architecture.

“Overall the installation went smooth. They were always on top of the communication, and they were very flexible in working around our schedule,” Moesgaard says. “SLS came in on the second shift. They also installed some new parts within drop ceilings to make the retrofit easier and aesthetically appear more pleasing.”

One of the most pleasant surprises of the project, Moesgaard says, was learning about the significant rebates that SLS could secure to fund part of the project. All businesses and consumers pay into the state’s energy efficiency program fund every month, which funds ComEd’s Smart Ideas program. Moesgaard had previously completed the Smart Ideas application for an air compressor rebate, and found the process time consuming. He was pleased that SLS handled all of the paperwork for the rebate, which came to $73,000.

“SLS managing that process was a big plus,” Moesgaard said. “And I really liked knowing that I was getting my money back from that fund, for the benefit of my company.”

Currently, Concentric is on track to save on average 750 kilowatt hours annually, which accounts for 1/8 of its energy consumption.

“Overall, we have been very pleased,” says Moesgaard. “People say their eyes aren’t as tired or strained as before, and I’m happy that we’re getting some of our money back!”

Faced with ever-diminishing light levels and skyrocketing maintenance costs, Experian looked to Sustainable Lighting Solutions to offer a state-of-the-art solution for its lighting needs. The existing 175 watt metal halide lamps were depreciating so quickly that relamping was required every two years. Experian looked at a number of lighting technologies that are popular today.

Competing Options

Fluorescent was considered too costly to install and required high maintenance due to its short lamp life. Cold Chicago-area temperatures threatened winter lighting levels, and a linear lighting pattern would not be sufficient to hold even foot-candles on a one-to-one replacement without adding significantly more fixtures.

Compact fluorescents were considered residential in application and would not supply the necessary light output for a commercial application. Offering a high-maintenance option with a short lamp life and non-UL certification solution was not to their benefit.
LED was problematic because of the high cost and glare issues of quality fixtures mounted at the low heights of a parking garage. This combination of height and glare did not offer a safe and cost effective solution. Low-cost LED fixtures did not perform well and quality was far from acceptable.

Induction Solution

Sustainable Lighting Solutions offered ECO Quad Induction fixtures on a one-to-one replacement. After a year-long demonstration of the technologies, Experian felt that the Induction solution met all of their needs: energy reduction, maintenance reduction, improved lighting levels, improved color, and safety.

Sustainable Lighting Solutions and Experian selected ECO Quad for a number of reasons. The product uses the Sylvania lcetron induction technology with its proven 100,000-hour lamp life and a comprehensive five-year parts and labor warranty fully supported by Sylvania Lighting Services. The installation of the 254 fixtures took just 15 minutes per fixture!

The project qualified for an attractive EPACT2005 tax deduction and enjoyed a rebate from ComEd, which Sustainable Lighting Solutions managed for Experian.

“My guys couldn’t believe it. It took about 15 minutes per fixture to replace. We just re-used the J­ Box, attached the new pendants and just like that, we were on to the next one,” says Sustainable Lighting Solutions. “There is no question in their mind that they chose the right solution. The ECO Parking Lights product is by far the best designed Induction lighting fixture on the market today. It is the easiest to install, great price and with Sylvania providing the warranty service, it’s a no­ brainer.”

About Experian

Experian is a global leader in consumer and business credit reporting and marketing services and a constituent of the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index, with revenues in excess of $4 billion. They support clients in more than 65 countries and employ more than 15,500 people in 38 countries. They are one of the three credit reporting agencies whose reports are calculated for an individual’s FICO score.