LED vs HID Wall Pack Fixture
I generally feel that upgrading electrical fixtures and devices to the newer energy-saving devices is the easiest green energy to justify. Great strides are being made in this area to the point that my average client can see savings with a short pay off time. This is often something that shows gains with a one-to-one swap of new for existing fixtures. Further gains can be achieved by designing around the new fixtures and adding energy-saving controls.
One of my supplier reps was in yesterday and shared the following analysis that he completed for one of his manufacturing clients who was considering upgrading their existing exterior wall pack lights from HID (High Intensity Discharge such as High Pressure Sodium or Metal Halide) to LED (Light Emitting Diode):
These are the wall pack security fixtures you see high on the wall around factories, warehouses or buildings with parking near their wall.
Fixture prices:
HID TWH400MTB w/lamp $218
LED TWHLED 30C 50K $450
At $0.08 energy rate, 10 hour/day, 365 days/year the energy savings is $102.79/year.
LED = In a ten year time frame you would spend $450 for the LED fixture and $305.80 for energy use.
HID = In a ten year time frame you would spend $218 for the HID fixture plus change the lamp four times and the ballast once. 2 hours labor times 4 times is 8 hours. The cost for the four lamps and the one ballast is $124.
Residential Accessibility
Example of a retrofit ramp from rampstoyou.com
An article in the April 2013 edition of Money Magazine made me think about all the accessibility projects we have done over the years. On page 81, Item #7, CPA Aaron Barlev suggests, “And don’t overlook anything: Health-related home renovations, such as installing a therapeutic pool to treat your back, can qualify.”
Considering Geothermal?
Carrier has produced a white paper that helps calculate the tax savings of installing a new geothermal heat pump system. (See press release here.)
It provides an overview of the federal tax credits available and includes payback analysis for the type of construction, i.e. new construction, retrofit or replacement installations. Tax benefits of up to 50% are available.
Okay… If you find the white paper at the carrier site, let me know and I’ll link it here. If you find it, you’re a better website sleuth than I am.
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Ronald W Liechty - President, Garden Court, Inc.