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Sometimes the answer to improving the environment and operations, while saving energy, is right on the shelf. At least, that is what Bay Logistics, Inc., learned at its distribution center in Spring Lake, MI. Bay Logistics, a provider of contract transportation, warehousing and logistics, has made environmental awareness a core part of its mission since its founding 28 years ago, and those concerns played a central role as the firm considered a lighting upgrade for its Spring Lake facility.
Recently, the company’s operations team investigated its T8 fixtures’ effectiveness hanging from the facility’s 26 foot ceiling. Jon Swart, Bay Logistics’ VP of operations found the answer on his warehouse shelves – a customer’s LED product.
Bay Logistics warehouses and ships products for EarthTronics, a Michigan-based, energy-efficient lighting solutions company. EarthTronics LED bulbs, linear LEDs and LED fixtures are sold under the EarthBulb brand name to commercial and industrial facilities, hotels, restaurants, retail stores and homes.
EarthTronics recommended the company invest in its high-energy-efficient, smooth-dimming, 15-watt T8 LED linear tube that delivers 146 lumens per watt, producing 2200 lumens. It features glass-tube construction that ensures proper cooling to support high lumen maintenance for a 50,000-hour rated life. The new T8 LED is engineered to work with popular dimming systems found in many meeting and conference rooms, as well as in energy-saving, daylight-harvesting applications.
“The switch from fluorescent to LED tubes was extremely simple,” Swart said. “The T8 LED linear tubes were compatible with our existing fixtures ballast. We simply changed the lamp to start saving energy without reducing lumens.”
The company replaced 1,900 fluorescent lamps consuming 32 watts each with 15 watt LED T8 lamps that provided 53% energy savings. Because the warehouse is a 24/7 operation the return on investment is just nine months.
”Making this decision was an easy one” said Kurt Cuncannan, COO of Bay Logistics. “This came directly out of the operations cost budget and begins bringing real value to the bottom line quickly.”