Groom Energy, Digital Lumens reduce lighting energy consumption by 90 percent

Groom Energy and Digital Lumens have announced the installation of the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System in three newly expanded Interstate Warehousing facilities located in Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. The new sections use 90 percent less lighting energy than the older portions of the facilities, costing $.04 per square-foot to light versus as much as $.51 in the older spaces. As a result of the significant savings, Interstate has announced plans to upgrade to the Digital Lumens System in all of its refrigerated warehouse facilities to help meet energy efficiency goals.

LED lighting technology presents a significant potential to save energy in the United States where it has grown from niche applications like automotive break lights and backlighting cell phones and into general lighting.  

"The Digital Lumens fixture was the first LED high bay able to light entire distribution centers only with LED," Erik Moser, Sales Engineer, Groom Energy Solutions, told FierceEnergy.  "According to Cree (component supplier to Digital Lumens) the current LED technology if fully deployed could reduce 16.5% of the nation's total electric energy consumption and bring the country back down to 1987 levels for consumption."

In the future, LEDs are predicted to become more efficient and affordable allowing for greater energy savings and increased adoption. Utilities are able to use energy efficiency as a way to mitigate load growth, and reduce capital spending on new power plants and utility infrastructure.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission estimates the cost of energy efficiency to be $0.03/kwh where generating power from a new combined cycle gas plant would cost $0.09/kwh.  Many states are now requiring utilities to provide energy effiiciency programs and to reduce the load on the grid by a certain amount each year. LED lighting can help to meet those goals cost effectively.

For more:
- see this release
- see this case study

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