Success Stories: Relamping at Stafford Creek
The Stafford Creek Corrections Center, a 1,900-bed institution near Aberdeen, has embarked on a relamping project that will save energy and labor. The facility, now five years old, is relamping with more energy efficient fluorescent lamps. Grays Harbor PUD is a partner in this effort, providing a rebate based on expected energy savings.
Fluorescent lamps should be replaced every five to seven years as part of a regular maintenance program to maintain lumen levels and preserve ballast life. Because Stafford Creek is relamping with more energy-efficient lamps (Phillips Energy Advantage Alto lamps), energy consumption will be reduced from 32 watts to 25 watts (approximately 22%) for each lamp. Over the life of each lamp-- 30,000 hours for a new 25-watt lamp vs. 24,000 hours for the old lamps-- this will amount to savings of more than $10.00 per lamp. With more than 12,000 lamps in the facility, the savings will add up!
Each lamp will save more than $10 in energy costs over its lifetime, which adds up to $120,000 for the entire facility and estimated annual energy savings around $11,000.
Another added benefit is the lower amount of mercury in the new lamps, reducing the amount of toxic material in use. The 25-watt Alto lamps have only 3.5 milligrams of mercury, in the 25-watt lamp, compared to 8 or 9 milligrams in standard 32-watt lamps.
The Stafford Creek Corrections Center has the advantage of being a newer facility, so the ballasts were compatible and did not need to be changed in order to relamp. In an older facility, old ballasts may need to be updated. Newer ballasts are far more efficient and do not contain PCBs that can be found in older models. Replacing the ballasts will also boost energy efficiency, which will offset the cost of replacement. In addition, modern ballasts are electronic rather than magnetic, which means they don't cause the lights to flicker.
In order to avoid contrasting light levels, relamping should blanket adjoining areas. Blanket relamping also reduces labor costs by avoiding return trips, and using longer-life lamps increases the time needed between relamping efforts.
Typical office lighting within the Stafford Creek facility operates nine hours per day, five days per week. Under this operating scenario, the estimated payback is two and a half years for a lamp replacement that occurs as normally scheduled maintenance.
The relamping project was started in mid-2005, and is expected to be complete by June of 2007. (It takes a while to change 12,000 lamps!) When the project is completed, the facility anticipates annual energy savings of at least $11,000.
Of course, the old lamps are being recycled through Ecolights.
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