GreenTech Solutions Group delivered a 62% reduction in annual lighting energy usage for Charter Medical, after an extensive LED lighting upgrade at its Winston-Salem, North Carolina facility.
Charter Medical has a 25-year history of developing and providing specialty single-use products to the blood transfusion, cell therapy, biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets.
The company sought out the expertise of GreenTech Solutions Group to upgrade the lighting in its 72,000ft2 facility.
After a careful assessment of the current lighting configuration, GreenTech worked closely with Charter Medical to plan a strategy to replace the lighting in two cleanrooms, warehouse and office space.
GreenTech provided photometrics on fixture allocation with light levels needed for compliance with federal regulations. Instrumentation was used throughout the process to monitor particle counts insuring that the cleanroom remained within compliance throughout installation.
GreenTech’s recommendations resulted in substantial energy and cost savings. The summary of benefits were:
- 62% reduction in annual lighting energy usage
- $22,022 savings in annual lighting energy costs
- Two-year payback period
- $48,383 savings in energy rebates
- 275,286 kWh reduction in annual lighting energy use
- 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
GreenTech upgraded existing legacy T12 and T8 fluorescent troffers with high-efficiency LED panel fixtures in all office areas. Light level dimming controls further increased energy efficiency in these areas throughout the facility.
The office lighting upgrade not only improved the overall quality of light, integrated dimming controls allowed each employee to customise light levels to a particular task or mood.
“We always strive to do more than just upgrade the lighting in a facility. We seek to make the resulting environment more conducive to productive work, and allowing employees to control the lighting in their individual spaces to their own needs is a great benefit,” said GreenTech VP of Business Development, Scott Jernigan.
“This project, especially concerning the strict regulations on the cleanroom areas, demonstrates our commitment to keeping operations going smoothly during the installation process and ultimately delivering superior lighting products to our clients.”
After installation, subsequent cleaning and verification, the cleanroom areas were returned to service with minimal impact to production. The cleanroom areas saw an increase in light levels, improving acuity and task performance.
Philips LED highbays were utilised throughout the warehouse for lighting. With proper fixture configuration, warehouse lighting quality was dramatically increased, enhancing safety and efficiency.
“All the employees noticed an immediate improvement,” said Casey Vestal, Charter Medical’s purchasing agent.
“Charter Medical is focused on exceeding our client's expectations, meeting quality requirements and providing best possible service and products.”
“GreenTech shares the same goals and from start to finish, we were very pleased with the performance of their team on this project.”
GreenTech assisted in securing more than 50% of the project’s total cost in rebates from Duke Energy: Smart $aver Incentive Program. The rebates combined with energy savings resulted in a quick two-year payback period for Charter Medical.
The lighting retrofit not only saved the company $22,022 in operational costs yearly, it also delivered a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of taking 41 cars off the road or planting 159 acres of forests.
