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With prices for everything from stationary to equipment we are all looking for ways
to maintain a profit. One of the greatest things a business or homeowner can do is to find ways to conserve energy and
lower your utility bills. In offices, laboratories, industrial warehouses to name a few, illuminating the space
can be very expensive and often does use large amounts of electricity. Electricity is all mathematics and by using simple
formulas we can show you how to shave dollars off of you electric bill. Beware of the many gimmicks out there which
promise "cleaner" electric and quick ways to lower your utility costs with out explaining in detail how!
We can do this by using math and explaining to you in terms you can understand realistic ways to
lower costs.
Example: A medium size office space using
twenty (20) 2x4, four (4) lamp light fixtures which have the magnetic ballasts, which up to the late
1990's were the standard. Each lamp is a 40w
lamp.
4 x 40 = 160 Each light fixture is using a minimum of 160 watts per hour. Your electric
bill is formulated by measuring killowatt hrs (kwh).
160 x 20 (the number of fixtures) = 3200 watts. Lights
being on in a eight hour day, would be 3200 x 8 = 25,600 watts or 25,600/1000 = 25.6
kwh. A typical electric bill uses a 33 day billing
cycle. 25.6kwh x 33 = 844.8kwh a month.
Multiply this number by the kwh charged by your utility. Ex.
844.8 x $.1222755 = $103.70 a month. $103.70 x 12mos = $1244.4 This number does
not represent your whole electric bill. It only represents the lighting portion of your bill
and is a conservative number based on the your lights
operating at 100% efficiency which they realistically do not. 80% is a more realistic number
which would than increase you actual electric usage and
raise the killowatt hrs.
If we changed the light fixtures to electronic ballasts
using T8 lamps, you could than use half the number of lamps per fixture because the T8 lamps
are brighter. They also use 32 watts per lamp as opposed
to 40 watts from the old lamps. 32 x 2 = 64w instead of 160w of the old lamps. 64 x 20
= 1280 Using the math above we would have in a 33 month
billing cycle $41.32 portion of the bill as opposed to $103.70.
As you can see it is a significant savings.
Looking at these numbers can be confusing, but when we show you on paper in person and explain it you would fully understand
and see the savings.
Motion sensors are another cost effective way to decrease
your lighting usage. Restrooms for one are often kept on all day and night because employees fail to turn off the lights
when finished. Motion sensors in corridors, or cafeterias and various other areas can be utilized to keep lights off
when an area is unoccupied. Motion sensors and automatic lighting controls are becoming required installations in
many townships throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. Controlled air conditioning and heat by means
of energy management systems are also becoming required.
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