The industry is experiencing an unprecedented cost escalation on key components needed to manufacture both linear and compact fluorescent lamps. These components, rare earth oxides, are mined from rare earth metals and are required to give these lamps high efficiencies and high color rendering.

Because of the uncontrollable circumstances, many manufactures have been forced to increase the pricing of these products ranging between 25% to 40%. Loeb Electric is currently evaluating the increases and will strive to minimize any impact it may have on our clients.

The lamp manufactures have announced an additional price increase on fluorescent lamps [Phillips, GE] due to the rare earth phosphor supply and pricing crisis.

A copy of a recent NY times article is attached that discusses China’s actions in regards to these materials.

Please do not hesitate to contact either Doug Hamrick or myself with any questions you may have.

Hello again!

We are back from PRSM and ready to get back to work helping our clients on what promises to be a good year. PRSM was great as usual. If you had a chance to stop in and see us we appreciate every one of those visits. We are scheduled to be there once again next year and hope that you’ll be able to visit us again.

If you did stop by, you would have seen our RU Ready 2012 program. We are quite excited about this program because it is something that should prove quite beneficial to retailers everywhere in that it helps guide you through the impact of new energy legislation that is to come into effect in July of next year.

Basically, Uncle Sam has banned the manufacture of numerous lamps that are in almost every single store in the United States. Trust me when I say this will affect you. Right now, we are in meetings with many of our clients letting them know that it would be wise to plan for a transition to replacement lamps for those lamps that are banned. Why? Good question.

The answer is a little complex so bare with me. The only given is that we will all soon have to say goodbye to lamps we grew up on like the ubiquitous 90 watt PAR38! We all know the laws of supply and demand so ask yourself this: Once those bulbs are in short supply, do you think the price will go up? Another question you should ask is, “What if the costs 3 times as much? Are your budgets ready for that?

Loeb Electric’s RU Ready 2012 program is a forward-thinking bundle of services that provides a proactive roadmap for the transition process. What we do:

• Store Usage Analysis – We analyze each store down to each in-use fixture and provide an analysis on all lamps that will be banned.
• Needs Assessment – We gather information from the client to assess current and future goals based on lumen output, wattage reduction, budgets, design changes, environmental impact and a variety of other needs. We then specify products to achieve those goals.
• Budget Projection – This is crucial; based on the needs assessment and finalized products specs, we provide a Budget Projection so all stakeholders can plan accordingly. Invariably, product changes at this scale will require a permanent change in budgets for product costs AND energy costs. Acquisition costs will rise but you could see a reduction in your energy bills.
• Identify and Capture Rebates – we will provide an assessment on rebates and other incentives opportunities based on the location of your stores. If you choose, our fee-based Incentive Capture process would-then handle all coordination and paperwork to collect available incentives.
• Conversion Strategy – Large-scale conversion can be a complex Project Management nightmare if you don’t know what you're doing. We develop a strategy based on the above information.
• Project Implementation – We assign a Project Manager, and manage the conversion start-up each step of the way. We also provide a Project Profile that contains all pertinent information related to system design, product specifications, energy and financial analysis and project costs.

As you can see, we have a pretty thorough program designed that could protect you from a potentially costly and stressful situation. We have several clients who are already taking these steps and, no matter how you proceed, you should be doing the same.

Ostensibly, this lamp ban may seem to be much ado about nothing. I can assure that’s not the case. You will be impacted...it’s just a matter of how much. The good news is, with proper planning, you can take steps now to avoid the potential pitfalls of waiting.

You’ve heard of LEED, but have you heard the latest? USGBC is now offering a LEED for Retail rating system that caters to your very unique design and construction needs as well as a LEED Volume system that provides high volume retailers more streamlined processes when applying for certification.

Check out the following links for additional information:
www.usgbc.org/leed/retail
www.usgbc.org/Leedvolume

Here’s the bottom line. To become LEED certified in a retail environment you need a minimum of 40 points. As you know, retailers don’t often have direct control over their buildings. So here’s my recommendation: Go after the lighting first to meet the overall efficiency requirements and the rest will fall into place.

Let’s walk through this together.

Say you have 200 lamps in your store at 60 watts each, totaling 12,000 watts.

But, you want to pursue a LEED certification and that’s not going to cut it. Here’s what you do. Upgrade that 60 watt lamp to a 10 watt lamp. Now instead of using 12,000 watts, you’re totaling 2,000 watts. That one simple adjustment has reduced your wattage by 80% and earned you 19 points towards your LEED certification. You’re halfway to being certified just for upgrading your lighting! I’m telling you, lighting is the low-hanging fruit. Take advantage of it!

More and more retailers are becoming interested in this process, so why not give me a call and we can chat about the LEED requirements or any other subject...I live for this stuff!

Until next time...

John

This month I want to talk about the significance of upgrading your lighting today. And here’s why:

As of July 14th 2012, 40-205 watt halogen lamps and linear T12, T8, T5 and U-shaped fluorescent lamps will be regulated by minimum Lumens Per Watt (LPW) standards as part of the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) – 2009 Final Rule. And as I said in January, this means that many of the halogen and fluorescent lamps being used in retail today will no longer be available. That being said, the deadline is closer than you think. And I recommend making a change now.

I had this conversation recently with a customer and I asked him, “Have you started thinking about making a change in your lighting?”

And he said to me, “John, why would I make the change now when I can wait another year and save money?”

Here’s what I told my customer and what I’m telling you.

I said, “Mark. Let’s do some simple math. You have 1200 locations. Each location has 150 lamps....that’s 180,000 lamps. Those lamps burn roughly 12 hours a day at an energy rate of 10 cents and your AC runs about half of the year.”

He shook his head, “What’s your point?”

I said, “My point is, you’re using 60PAR/HIR lamps which cost $6.50 per lamp. And now you’re tossing around the idea of switching over to the 48PAR/HIR+ which is $9.00 per lamp. The lumen output for the 48PAR/HIR+ is comparable at 1050 lumens vs. 970 lumens with an increased life of 3000 hours vs. 4200 hours.”

"Ok John, which means?"

"Which means, you will actually save almost $19,000 annually in lamp purchases and an additional $1.1mm annually in energy costs. That's quite a few t-shirts and jeans you'll need to sell to make up that kind of margin, Mark." Click here to see the details

Let's just say after our discussion, Mark has made the switch and is on his way to savings!

Now, I'm asking you...Why wouldn't you make the change now? The savings are there and you should be taking advantage of them.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss other possibilities, don’t hesitate to contact me.

John

Let's just say you have a section of your Distribution Center that contains twenty-eight (28) 400 watt metal halide fixtures (458 system watts) and you replace each fixture with a 4-lamp 49w T5 high-bay fixture (215 system watts). Yep, you read it right...215 watts can provide the same amount of light at the work plane. Everyone knows that you save just by reducing the wattage but you want to know just how fast your payback will be and what kind of Return on Investment (ROI) you’ll see.

Here you go:
Without any incentives, your payback will be 2.3 years with a 10-year Average ROI of 48%. Is good but not good enough? Look what happens when you apply for the fixture incentive of $85.05 available in Columbus, Ohio: Payback decreases to 1.7 years with a 10-year Average ROI of 70%! That's getting your money back 6 months quicker! After that, all the savings go straight to your bottom line.

Now granted, there's much more that goes into this little analysis. To see the analysis without incentives check 'em out here. To see the analysis with incentives, click here. What I'm saying is that even in these challenging times, there are still opportunities to upgrade your facilities by taking advantage of what the utility companies are offering.

If you want additional information or just want to discuss the details of the analysis, please don’t hesitate to give me a shout.

The amounts of utility rebates are computed by a variety of methods. In many cases dollar amounts are attached to actions such as relamping a T12 fixture with T8 lamps (and changing ballasts) or de-lamping from a 4-lamp to a 3-lamp fixture. When installing new fixtures, incentives are frequently based on the total kilowatt reduction realized by the new systems.

To find eligible incentives, go to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) at http://www.dsireusa.org/. Select the “Energy Efficiency” database in the tan box and click on your state. Scroll down to the “Utility Rebate Program” category, find your utility, and look for a program that has a title such as “Commercial/Industrial Energy Efficiency.” If the utility is not represented, check to see if there are any programs under the “State Rebate Program” category.

After clicking on the program’s link you will be taken to a summary page. This is a great place to become familiar with the type of program offered by your utility. To get more information, and to begin the application process, look for a link to the program’s website near the bottom of the “Program Overview” table. You may also be able to use the Contact information at the bottom of the page to ask specific questions about the incentives.

Next time I’ll talk about some of the more common retrofits that save the most energy. Hint: They also usually get you the most money from your utility!

Incentives can be a big help in making your investment start paying you back soon. There are a variety of programs available, including:

• Federal Incentives
  • At this level, tax credits and deductions are the most prevalent, and for efficiency upgrades EPAct's Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD) is the weapon of choice. CBTD is a deduction that allows owners to write off the partial or whole cost of an efficiency retrofit in one tax year. Only owners of a building can take advantage of this incentive, which limits its usefulness for retailers, but you may want to consider it for offices and corporate headquarters. For more information, Loeb Electric's EPAct flyer is a great place to start.
• State Incentives:
  • These are usually grants or low-interest loans that help companies pay for efficiency upgrades. Once again, they are usually available only to facility owners, so these incentives are great for buildings that your company owns but less so for your retail locations.
• Utility Rebate Programs:
  • Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) in many states are required by state law to achieve reductions in electricity demand. In order to achieve these goals, most utilities have incentive programs that give you money to retrofit your facilities with systems that reduce demand. The good news is that you don't have to be the building owner to get this money. Paying your utility bill qualifies you automatically.

The programs that they use are generally funded by public benefit funds collected from all ratepayers, usually in the form of a type of energy efficiency/peak demand reduction surcharge on monthly utility bills. Yet another reason to take advantage of the programs while they exist: you already paid for them!

Next time we'll go over how to get the ball rolling and start earning your money!


7/19/2010


Come and Get It! Preparing for 2012 and how to use incentive money to pay for lighting upgrades

New performance standards released by the US Department of Energy in 2009 were the death knell of many of the staple halogen products as well as the venerable T12 fluorescent lamp. After 2012, these lamps will no longer be manufactured. That's it, they're done.

So where will that leave you in a year-and-a-half when you're forced to make a change? Looking at an empty fixture? Doubt it. If you're smart about it, you're looking at changing right now. And that's for several reasons:

• You'll have a year and a half of accumulated savings and energy.
• There are numerous incentives out there that may reduce the financial burden, but they may not be there in 2012.
• You need to prepare your maintenance budgets beginning in 2012 due to these changes.

In this four part series, I'll show you how to look for and capture incentive money, how these restrictions will directly impact you as well as the kinds of upgrades that qualify for incentives, and then how Loeb Electric can help you in the process!

A question that I've been hit with numerous times is "How do you find the incentive? Where's the information?" Seeing as we're not talking about the Coca-Cola recipe, this information is not stored in a bank vault. It's readily available in various places once you know where to look. And knowing where to look means you have to know where the money is coming from.

Next week we’ll talk about who is supplying these funds, how to sniff them out, and how to go about claiming them.


1/25/2010


2009 Department of Energy Lumens per Watt Regulations

You may or may not already be aware of this but effective July 14th 2012; 40-205 watt halogen lamps and linear T12, T8, T5 and U-shaped fluorescent lamps will be regulated by minimum Lumens Per Watt (LPW) standards as part of the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) – 2009 Final Rule.

What does this mean? Quite simply, many of the halogen and fluorescent lamps being used in retail today will no longer be available.

Why? Lamps do not meet the required LPW standards.

Here's an example of one of the most common halogen lamps used in retail today:

50 WATT PAR30 HALOGEN	MINIMUM LUMENS REQUIRED TO MEET NEW STANDARDS: 848
Current Lamp:	50PAR30/H 50PAR30/HIR 630 Lumens 825 Lumens FAIL FAIL
Suggested Lamp:	48PAR30/HIR+ 840 Lumens PASS (Due to the fact that this lamp is 48 watts, 805 Lumens are required to meet standard)

What impact will this have on you? Making the change now will allow you to take full advantage of the energy savings of 2 watts per lamp, approximately 5% longer life, and a slight increase in light output.

What about the linear fluorescent lamps you say:

32 WATT T8 LINEAR	MINIMUM LUMENS REQUIRED TO MEET NEW STANDARDS: 2850
Current Lamp:	F32T8 35k (SP series) 2800 Lumens FAIL
Suggested Lamp:	F32T8 35k (SPX series) 2950 Lumens PASS

Although these may not be immediate issues, you should be thinking about making some sort of a change and plan your budgets accordingly.

For further information on environmental issues and regulations; drop me a line john.teeples@loebelectric.com


11/16/2009


Metal Halide vs Solid State (LED)

Everyone wants to have a Green initiative, myself included. What everyone is realizing is the amount of "GREEN" (just had to do it) involved, especially in directional lighting.

Solid State Lighting (LED) has been used in retail for many years in showcase lighting and signage, but over the past year, there has been an abundance of directional products introduced to the market. My opinion, LED technology is still behind the curve. Metal halide technology is still a very viable light source. Combine the proven stability, wattage options and lamp envelopes with the relative affordability, I feel for the time being that metal halide sources are still a better choice.

A 20 watt CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide) lamp offers more design lumens than many of the LED track fixtures at about 50% of the initial cost. I know, I know...'What about the cost avoidance of maintenance?' Think about it...Metal halide lamps has an average life of 12,000 hours in comparison to the 50,000 hours for the LED. That means you'll replace roughly 4 metal halide lamps by the time the LED reaches end of life.

MH Fixture 20 watt	$150.00	LED Fixture ~ 20 watt	$400.00
MH Lamp 20 watt	$50.00	LED Lamp	-----------
	$200.00		$400.00
Maintenance (4 lamps)	$200.00	Maintenance	-----------
Lifecycle Cost	$400.00	Lifecycle Cost	$400.00

Very elementary evaluation but you get the point...I don't see the payback financially. Don't get me wrong, everyone needs to be very aware of energy consumption and total overall savings but I don't believe LED directional lighting is the best use of available funds, especially when you can achieve higher light levels and excellent maintained color rendering with metal halide sources.

LED lighting is here to stay but it's still in the infancy stages. Look for improved performance in the very near future.

Soon my friends...very soon.

Until next time...


5/22/2009


LEDs: Stalwart or Stalled?

In keeping with the LED theme, I feel this article sums up my approach to the current technology and how we communicate with clients when asked about LED’s.

‘Like all new technologies that emerge quickly in the marketplace, there is always a period of trial and error when it comes to product development and project applications. Such is the case with solid-state lighting and LEDs. In the past six years, LEDs have become the latest lighting source paving the way for a revolution in lighting-daring to imagine a new paradigm of illumination. But the desire to promote this technology, provide accurate data, and find appropriate uses has not always met with a consistency or reliability that make LEDs an absolute fiven in terms of choosing a lightn source.

While LEDs have come a long way-moving beyond gimmicky color-changing applications to viable street and roadway lighting options and most recently some emerging resources for interiors-this 21st century light source currently is experiencing some backlash from the lighting design community. Burned enough times now by false manufacturer claims, unavailable test data, and warranty backing, lighting designers are no longer interested in having their projects and clients act as guinea pigs for this technology-particularly in this economy. Designers are reluctant to specify LED-based luminaires unless there is reliable specification documentation and they can work with manufactures that will stand behind their LED products from ship to fixture…’
Elizabeh Donoff – Editor – Architectural Lighting

In my opinion, LED is a viable technology when used in the correct application but there are still advancements that need to be made, especially in regards to general lighting. Fixture manufactures are committing extensive resources to solid-state lighting and I foresee new product introductions to fit these needs.

Stay tuned…


4/17/2009


Welcome to the first installment of our Blog!

As I write this I know many of you are making plans to fly out to Phoenix for the PRSM ’09 show. I can only hope you stop by our booth, number 336 by the way, and talk to Dave Elcessor, Doug Hamrick and Doug Beh. It’s always great to see our current customers and to meet future ones.
 
With this blog my aim is to keep you abreast of information that is new and useful to you when it comes to all the issues surrounding the building, operation and maintenance of your branded stores. That’s a lot of stuff to know. It’s a massive feat just trying to keep up with the rapidly changing technology in lighting. So we consider it our duty to keep you informed of the products, technologies and other sundry information useful to you in making your stores perform to their capabilities.
 
Personally, I’m not color blind. But even if I were it wouldn’t matter because these days because you can’t miss how “green” is coloring our world. From simple lamp swaps to complete lighting upgrades with controls installed, savings energy and reducing electric expenses is proving to be a great way to decrease operating costs.
 
We’re seeing new energy-saving products by the week but we’re taking the approach of slow evaluation before we recommend them to our clients. LED technology is a prime example of that. Many people know of the energy saving benefits of LED (light-emitting diode) technology but don’t know that many of the LED products being sold right now are proving to be a waste of money.
 
Why? They’re expensive, first off. They’re also not performing in the way of lighting quality. Quite simply, many of these products aren’t putting out enough light. From a cost per lumen basis you could be looking at 2 or 3 times the cost when trying to match performance. You could spend 20 times the cost for a LED bulb that won’t even put out half the light that an old par lamp did. To us, that doesn’t make good business sense. While we are very sensitive to the need for all of us to reduce energy consumption, we are not going to advocate our clients spending money on products that cost them even more in the long run.
 
With that said, there is one product that you will see us talking a lot about. It’s the new Lightolier Calculite LED recessed can. It’s solid-state technology that has a 4” aperture in round and square downlights. These fixtures integrate seamlessly with the existing product line. The companion wall washers are an efficient way to illuminate vertical surfaces as well. With 1000 lumens delivered for only 20 watts you know you’re saving energy. See the banner on the front page for more info.