Warehouse and High/Low Bay Retrofits

Although you may not think it at first, warehouses use a ton of energy every year. According to information published by the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives' Business Energy Advisor (BEA), each year warehouses in the United States spend an average of 70 cents per square foot on energy, which can amount to about 10% of their entire revenue. Additionally, lighting amounts for about 37% of a warehouse's energy usage -- its largest energy use. Why do warehouses and other industrial facilities use so many energy and so much light? In regards to energy, much of that is due to the fact that warehouses have become much more sophisticated throughout the years. Many have modernized electronic systems that help with taking inventory and moving inventory from one spot to another, and all of this takes energy. As for lighting, warehouses are huge and require a very large lighting system. Also warehouses generally have very tall ceilings, so fixtures and lamps have to be powerful enough to be able to beam light all the way down, resulting in more energy usage. Because of the obvious large cost of energy for warehouses and industrial sites, many have been turning to more energy efficient lighting options, such as fluorescent and LED, to help. Although there's obviously a cost up-front to upgrade, today's LED and fluorescent lighting systems save so much energy that warehouses are able to see their ROI very quickly, as well as continue to save throughout the lifetime of the system. Today, being able to save energy is a big deal as every business is becoming more environmentally conscious. Not only is that a marketing benefit, but a cost savings benefit for businesses. In fact, many LED and fluorescent fixtures and lamps can also provide greater savings by working with dimmers and motion and occupancy sensors, which can be a boon for large warehouses that have areas that are not always heavily traveled. In fact, the National Association of Electrical Distributors says occupancy sensors can help save warehouses an average of 30% in lighting energy costs.