Specialty lighting and wiring products maker Engineered Products Company (EPCO), Minneapolis, said an electrical contractor has begun installing 700 of EPCO’s ProSeries LED utility lights in a huge swine production facility at Woodville Pork in Waseca, Minn. The facility, which handles 2,500 head of swine, was highlighted at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, in early June.
The contractor, Electrical Production Services (EPS), based in nearby Chanhassen, Minn., said the LED luminaries are replacing fluorescent fixtures that had reached the end of their life. The company selected EPCO’s lights and bought them through the Border States Electric branch in Faribault, Minn.
“We investigated several options, including less expensive LED light fixtures, and found a tremendous variation in lighting quality,” said EPS VP of Sales Don Johnson. “We (customer and EPS) agreed that EPCO’s ProSeries LED light fixture leads the pack. Plus, as a long-time EPCO customer, we know we can count on the company to be there for ongoing customer support.”
Woodville Pork Co-owner Chris Selthun, talked about the EPCO fixture quality. “Comparing the fixture to other similar fixtures side by side, you can see that the gasket fits much tighter on EPCO’s. With the 3,000 psi pressure washer we use, that’s critical for protecting our lighting.”
The pork producer is seeing immediate benefits including increased light levels, more even light distribution and the color was a brighter white, which Selthun said is “more user friendly in the environment of a barn. The retrofit kit to adapt to the existing light base was extremely easy and quick to install.”
Xcel Energy, Woodville’s Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric utility company, is issuing a rebate of approximately $13 for each light fixture, making the decision to change to LED lighting financially easier.