So what is it that Houston, Walmart and Starbucks all have in common? Each one of them have gone or are going through a major conversion to LED lighting. Each one has seen the extravagant benefits that LED lighting brings such as cost savings, energy efficiency, low maintenance and environmental friendliness. These are the same reasons many other cities and businesses have made the switch and seems to be a trend that will only increase. Below we talk a little bit about each of the projects and how they are beneficial to the three.
Walmart
Walmart has been slowly converting to LED lighting over the past couple of years. But just this year, they went ahead and made their largest purchase from General Electric to date. The superstore chain will be installing LED lights in new stores and retrofitting existing ones. The switch will save Walmart approximately $34,000 per year per store. The new lighting systems will also collaborate with automated daylight harvesting systems and timed controls to further reduce energy consumption. Walmart plans to complete installations in 30 new stores in the United States and 127 new and existing stores worldwide.
Starbucks
Back in 2010 Starbucks went through a huge renovation project where it replaced incandescent and halogen lights with LED lights in over 7,000 company-owned stores. Each 1,000 square foot store saves on average nearly $600 annually. The Starbucks Times Square Theatre District store was estimated to save almost $12,000 annually in savings from the switch to LED lighting. The switch has saved the company millions in cost over the past few years.
City of Houston
Houston announced in May that all 165,000 of the city’s streetlights will be converted to LED over the next five years. The city is currently using high pressure sodium, mercury vapor and metal halide streetlights. Houston’s Mayor Annise Parker said the switch should help the city reach its goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions produced by municipal operations by 10% by 2016. It will also save the city a projected $28 million dollars in electricity cost over 10 years.
This is of a fraction of the businesses and cities that have seen the positive potential of retrofitting with LED lights. New York City, Las Vegas, LA and businesses of all sizes have taken on LED lighting projects. It has not only proven to be a great energy efficient and environmental move but a financial one as well.
For more information about LED lighting and how it can benefit you click here.