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by Craig DiLouie

The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 created the Commercial Buildings Deduction (CBD), which established an accelerated tax deduction rewarding investment in energy-efficient interior lighting, HVAC/hot water systems and building envelope.Initially set to expire December 31, 2007 and then December 31, 2008, the CBD was recently extended by Congress to expire in five years: December 31, 2013.

The Deduction
A tax deduction is a cost subtracted from adjusted gross income when calculating taxable income; tax liability is not reduced dollar for dollar, as is the case with a tax credit, but instead in proportion to the taxpayer’s tax bracket.

Deducting the cost of a capital investment such as new lighting is not special. What is special about the CBD is the owner can potentially write off the entire cost of the new lighting in the tax year in which it is placed in service, instead of capitalized and depreciated or amortized over time. So it’s an accelerated tax deduction: If a cost item associated with installing new lighting is normally depreciated and claimed over a period of years, it can now be claimed in a single tax year.

 

Originally posted 2009-05-22 20:53:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Empire Lighting Resources® recently completed an energy-efficient lighting upgrade at the Coral Springs Christian Academy’s gymnasium.

Coral Springs Christian was dealing with high energy costs and inefficient lighting levels. Empire Lighting Resources® designers came up with a new lighting layout for the gym. We removed 48 458 watt metal halide fixtures and replaced them with only 36 222 watt high-bay fixtures with enhanced Miro4 reflectors. The reduction of fixtures was made possible by using our Viz-A-Lite® high vision T8 lamps which are 70% brighter than standard T8 lamps.

The result of the upgrade gave the gymnasium 50% more foot candles, better visibility and a 64% reduction in energy. Additional savings were achieved due to reduced heat load. Metal halide fixtures operate at over 200 degrees, the new high bays, slightly above ambient temperature. All told, monthly savings are estimated to be almost $900.00 per month.

As a side note, the operations manager told us shortly after the completion of the upgrade that their teams, playing under the new lights, had won seven straight games. Sounds like a real home court advantage, on the court and in the accounting office!

Originally posted 2011-03-11 12:00:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

New Lighting Options Saves Money And Is Good For The Environment…. 

 

PIU Management is pleased to announce the addition of Empire Lighting Resources

(ELR) to our ever growing vendor list. As the Director of Site Development, Randy

Baker’s background is rooted in construction so he took a rather skeptical approach

when reviewing the cost savings claims made by ELR. However, after a careful and

thorough review, their fixtures and fluorescent lamps truly do deliver as promised.

 

 

 

Originally posted 2009-06-08 17:07:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

FPL downplays the impact of lighting on electric bills, with a page on its Web site that says “lighting is not typically a major user of energy in most homes [the average cost is $70 a year].” An energy calculator on the same page shows it costs $64.80 a month to burn 15 100-watt bulbs 12 hours a day. Comparable lighting produced by CFL bulbs would cost around $15 a month.

I went around my house the other day and counted 33 incandescent bulbs.

Forget the mall. This holiday season, I’m headed to the hardware store.

Michael Mayo’s column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at mmayo@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4508.

From Sun Sentinel - 12/21/08

President-elect Barack Obama has talked about turning the White House into the Green House and making energy efficiency in federal buildings and public schools a top priority.

“Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that,” Obama said in a Dec. 6 address. “We will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy efficient … by replacing heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs.”

Light bulbs? I had this picture in my mind of Obama and Al Gore standing on ladders, fiddling with every fixture around Washington, D.C.

I mean, how much can really be done by changing light bulbs?

Turns out a lot.

Just ask Giacomo Dresseno, longtime chef-owner of Primavera Restaurant in Oakland Park. Facing an economic downturn in a business with a slim profit margin, Dresseno decided to do something when his FPL bills climbed to nearly $3,000 a month last year.

He went green, switching hundreds of incandescent bulbs to the latest in Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs. He also got rid of some inefficient refrigerators.

The bottom line: His latest electric bill was $1,400, a 50 percent drop from its peak.

“It’s saving me $15,000 a year,” Dresseno said as he showed me the new lighting around the restaurant.

That’s a lotta pasta.

“It seems like a lot of work, but it’s not,” Dresseno said. “The technology is there, and it’s not that expensive.”

The only drawback: CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, so if the bulb breaks it can be a hazard and a hassle.

Dresseno said he has spent less than a thousand dollars on the upgrades, an investment that paid for itself in less than a month. He showed me the new bulbs in the kitchen, with eight fluorescent fixtures drawing only 64 watts each, compared to 240 watts used by the old ones.

He showed off the women’s bathroom, where 45 watts’ worth of LED bulbs does the job that 480 watts of incandescent bulbs used to do.

Dresseno spoke about the ripple effects. “Feel this,” he said, as he unscrewed an LED bulb with his bare hand. It was warm to the touch, about 120 degrees, but it didn’t burn like an incandescent bulb. All those bulbs producing less heat means the air conditioning doesn’t kick on as much.

So maybe there is something to this, something simple and concrete most businesses and homes can do right now without installing expensive solar panels or building a windmill on the front lawn.

“I feel like it’s politically correct, it’s the right thing to do,” said Dresseno, originally from Lake Como, Italy. “And it puts more money in my pocket and less in FPL’s.”

Now that’s change we can believe in. Saving the planet is one thing, but getting revenge on our favorite utility by denting FPL’s bottom line should make this irresistible for South Floridians.

Originally posted 2009-04-18 09:29:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Highlands Christian Academy, with a student enrollment that ranges from 3-K through grade12, utilizes their gymnasium all day. Due to soaring energy and maintenance costs, Highlands looked for ways to reduce expenses. Empire Lighting Resources suggested replacing their 36 existing energy consuming 455 watt metal halide fixtures with 192 watt hi-bay T8 fluorescent reflector fixtures with Viz-A-Lite High Vision fluorescent lamps.

By replacing the fixtures, Highlands will save over $7,000 per year in energy costs derived from the combination of the energy-efficient fixtures and heat load reduction. Also, a result of the greatly enhanced brightness of the new lighting system, Highlands will need to only light one-half of the fixtures during daily use. This translates to additional savings of up to 80% of their current overall lighting costs.

Originally posted 2009-05-02 13:24:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Author: Seowork011

If you’re considering a commercial lighting retrofit, you’re probably in the process of weighing up the future savings against the cost of quotes obtained from these companies. With the possibility of energy costs rising in the future, and lighting costs accounting for up to 50% of the power bill for some commercial premises, it’s no surprise that lighting retrofit services are receiving an increasing number of enquiries about the benefits of commercial lighting retrofits.

Here are 3 important ways retrofit companies can save your business money:

1. Energy Efficient Lighting Reduces Energy Costs

Advances in lighting technology over the past decade have been significant, resulting in lighting solutions that consume less energy and therefore cost less to run. This alone can shave a pleasing sum off a commercial power bill. Retrofit services offer a range of options, from simply replacing outdated lights to undertaking a comprehensive commercial lighting retrofit that could save your company thousands of dollars a year in lighting costs.

2. Wireless Commercial Lighting

If you think that a complete retrofit is prohibitively expensive because it requires complete rewiring of your premises, you’ll be pleased to find out that you’re wrong! Commercial lighting retrofit services are able to use wireless technology to your advantage. This can keep installation costs down and potentially reduce future wiring maintenance costs. Wireless systems also offer you the ability to analyze and control your lighting usage and costs from a computer.

3. Ability to Control & Reduce Consumption

Whether you opt for a wireless or hard wired, new lighting technology offers you the opportunity to control and therefore reduce the amount of energy your building lighting consumes. There are several ways that cost can be reduced:

• Scheduling: timers can be used to turn lights on and off at set times, or even to dim lighting.

• Day Light Harvesting: sensors can be used detect the amount of daylight entering via building windows and adjust the lighting accordingly.

• Occupancy: sensors that detect persons entering and departing an area can be utilized to reduce costs by dimming or turning lights off when an area is not in use.

When you’re weighing up the advantages the cost of engaging lighting retrofit services, it’s important to remember that the savings mentioned above are ongoing. If you’re paying a small fortune in energy costs, the cost of this could be quickly redeemed by the savings. Add to that any utility rebates and government tax incentives you may be eligible for, and a commercial fiting can be a very smart choice.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/3-very-important-ways-commercial-lighting-retrofit-companies-save-businesses-money-4083076.html

About the Author

AUTHOR,

BOB FERRUCCI

COMMONWEALTH ENERGY GROUP, LLC

COMMERCIAL LIGHTING RETROFIT EXPERT

Originally posted 2011-04-13 09:56:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter