By Monica Kanojia

The advancement of the economy is heavily dependent upon the productivity of the commercial sector, which is often a direct result of leveraging cost savings from the maximization of opportunities for efficiency. Whether as an improvement in the supply chain, workforce development, or reduction of energy costs, efficiency can result in an increase in profitability if properly implemented. As a nation, we spend more than $200 billion to power buildings within the commercial sector with $40 billion being spent on lighting alone. The Energy Department’s Interior Lighting Campaign (ILC), a guidance and recognition program geared toward building owners and managers, is an effort to address one of the simplest, most cost-effective strategies to decrease energy costs – the replacement of inefficient lighting systems. Significant industry participation has yielded a collective savings of nearly $13 million annually across approximately 95 million square feet through participant upgrades to high-efficiency lighting solutions, demonstrating that it is possible to implement innovative solutions without adversely impacting productivity.

The ILC recognized 13 organizations for their exemplary performance in the application of high-efficiency troffer lighting systems at the 2016 Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference and Expo, bringing attention to its diverse group of high-profile members including Target, the U.S. Department of Defense, and T-Mobile. While participants receive guidance through the ILC’s resources, like the High Efficiency Troffer Performance Specification, it also serves as a platform to share lessons learned and best practices with peers to encourage greater adoption. Several of the organizations recognized have shared their keys to success, methodologies, and tips through case studies, some of which are shared below.

CHRISTUS Health, an international Catholic NGO healthcare system that operates hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, outpatient centers, and other health ministries, received recognition for its exemplary performance through lighting upgrades that resulted in a 61% decrease in energy consumption at St. Michael hospital. The marked improvement in lighting and overall quality across the 10 hospital sites included in CHRISTUS Health’s portfolio was a result of the replacement of fluorescent lamps with LEDs in 16,400 troffers. The retrofitting of a total of 5.5 million square feet across the portfolio of projects focused on areas within each facility that operated 24 hours per day and took care to collaborate with the lighting manufacturer, distributor, and CRE service provider to develop a comprehensive scope, budget, and implementation plan. CHRISTUS Health has actualized annual energy savings of 4.71 million kWh with cost savings of $300,000.

CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc., a restaurant franchiser that owns Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito, received recognition for the largest number of facility projects for replacing 5,650 troffers at 157 facilities; the highest absolute annual savings for troffer lighting retrofits for two small projects: its Castaic, California, Carl’s Jr. actualized an energy savings of 62% by replacing 21 troffers, and its Dandridge, Tennessee, Hardee's actualized an energy savings of 64% by replacing five troffers. CKE’s executive team was interested in investing in projects that would provide a solid payback in cost savings that could be transferred to other business components – the co-benefits received extended beyond their expectations, with improvements in store aesthetics resulting in increased revenue. CKE achieved annual energy savings of 1.9 million kWh over a total project area of 471,000 square feet.

Clean Harbors Environmental, a hazardous waste remediation firm, received recognition for the highest percentage of annual savings for troffer lighting retrofits for achieving an estimated energy savings of 74% through the retrofit of 44 troffers in partnership with Sustainable Technologies. The environmental firms had zero out-of-pocket costs thanks to the ability to leverage a variety of incentives including the combination of monthly bills with rebates, a zero interest loan program from the utility, and on-bill financing. The planning phase of this project incorporated full assessments of lighting needs through site audits with the project team identifying upgrade opportunities to further improve system design and performance. On-bill financing was a significant project driver – the PG&E offered feature allowed for monthly savings from the new lighting to pay for the new lighting features. The Clean Harbors achieve energy savings of 11,000 kWh/year with $950/year cost savings through the retrofit of an entire building with warehouse and office space.

Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, received recognition for the highest absolute annual savings for troffer retrofits of a large project through the retrofit of 10,500 troffers at its Lerner Research Center complex. The Lerner complex actualized savings of nearly 2.6 million kWh and an associated annual cost savings of $179,900. Lighting quality is especially important in healthcare settings, where factors such as spectrum and brightness can impact patient outcome, staff productivity, and the quality of the overall indoor environment. It is no surprise that Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to its quality of service, patients, and staff, aligned with its goals to reduce energy use across its portfolio of 32 million square feet. Cleveland Clinic will save 10.3 million kWh annually, a savings of 55%, with associated cost savings of $717,800 as a result of its larger, portfolio-wide project.

Northern Arizona University (NAU) received recognition for the best use of lighting controls and exemplary performance in higher education for its new Student and Academic Services building’s estimated energy savings of 46% through the installation of 770 high-efficiency troffers. As a means to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, as well as energy and cost savings, NAU leveraged the expertise of DWL Architects and LSW Engineers during the planning phase to ensure that overall project savings were maximized. Optimum fixture selection, spacing, and placement were all core goals, as was taking advantage of lighting controls given the variety of occupancy levels and times. As this was new construction, there is no comparable data to determine cost savings, however, the university anticipates a lower level of energy consumption than that of standard construction with approximately 77,600 kWh annually for energy use at $6,600 for a 94,400 square feet facility.

Target Corporation received recognition in several categories for its work in completing nearly 130,000 LED lighting installations in 107 sites nationwide including largest portfolio-wide annual energy savings, highest absolute savings for new construction, and highest percentage of savings for new construction. Target was able to actualize an impressive 26 million kWh of energy savings and anticipates an estimated payback of 1.6 years. Part of a larger retrofit project to include more than 300 stores, Target set out to replace outdated troffers with LEDs with a longer shelf life and low maintenance requirements. Target leadership was faced with a unique hurdle in that their sites are open to high foot traffic and employees for a significant portion of every day, so retrofitting had to be done within a tight window, with immediate clearing of all equipment prior to the arrival of customers. Working closely with its supplier and designer, Acuity Brands lighting and The Lighting Practice respectively, to identify the appropriate lighting products and installation blueprints, Target was able to achieve optimum, site-appropriate upgrades. Target Corporation will save 26 million kWh annually, a savings of 48%, and will achieve their supplemental goal of reducing required maintenance.

U.S. Toy Company received recognition for exemplary performance in sector for the replacement of 470 troffers at its corporate headquarters as a part of a lighting upgrade. Energy cost savings were the primary driver for the project, however, utility incentives and the associated sustainability benefits were also of importance for the 65-year-old, family-owned company. The U.S. Toy Company took close care when evaluating proposals received from vendors with an interest in the ability to avoid disruption in productivity during installation. Its partnership with BioStar Renewables proved to be the right fit as the vendor completed retrofit of the entire headquarters building within a weekend, causing no impact on productivity of the company. An added benefit for employees was the noticeable difference in lighting, which has resulted in improved workspace satisfaction. The U.S. Toy Company has achieved an annual energy savings of 54,000 kWh, approximately 53%, with a cost savings of $4,300 across 48,000 square feet.

The Interior Lighting Campaign has successfully brought together industry leaders to demonstrate the power of simple, cost-effective efficiency upgrades that not only lead to decreased energy costs, but also provide myriad additional benefits like increased occupant satisfaction and revenue. The 2017 ILC Awards are sure to provide a view into the exciting and innovative ways participants have helped the campaign surpass its ultimate goal of 1,000,000 lighting upgrades.

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The Interior Lighting Campaign (ILC) is designed to help facility owners and managers take advantage of savings opportunities from high-efficiency interior lighting solutions. Campaign organizers, Building Owners and Managers Association International, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, the International Facility Management Association, U.S. General Services Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy serve on the ILC Organizing Committee. To learn more about how to participate in the ILC and previous award winners, please visit the Interior Lighting Campaign’s website.