Many retail businesses are looking for places to cut back on costs and improve their bottom line. Some businesses shut off some of their lights during the day and rely on sunlight to illuminate the building. Other businesses have become a little stricter on what temperature their thermostat is set on. Although we believe natural light is an excellent solution it isn’t right for everyone. Turning up the thermostat can make customers uncomfortable and less likely to shop. By making the switch to LED lighting, businesses can save money on both lighting and air conditioning costs without the adverse effects of inconsistent natural light and warmer store temperatures. Because LEDs don’t produce heat, buildings stay cooler. They also consume less power than traditional lighting.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 42% of an average retailers’ electricity bill is spent on lighting. If retail businesses would install LED lighting, they could save $6,400 – $8,000 each year per 10,000 square feet. In Philadelphia, Braxton’s Animal Works, a family-based pet supply store, replaced their incandescent and fluorescent lamps with LEDs. Their average electricity bills were $1,735 each month, and $761 of that was spent on lighting. With the new LED lamps, lighting costs are only $100.56 each month! They are expecting to save $8,772 each year and $260,631 over the bulbs’ 80,000-hour lifetimes.
Chestnut Hill Supermarket in Newton, Massachusetts also swapped their incandescent and fluorescent lamps for LEDs. They have seen 50-65% reduction in energy consumption, not to mention the money they are saving on replacement and maintenance costs. Chestnut Hill Supermarket was excited to learn their new LED lamps would last 10 years. Their old lamps only lasted 8-18 months.
If all retail businesses traded their old lighting for LEDs, they could save a combined total of $6.6 million each year. They would also eliminate enough CO2 emissions to equal seven million cars. Over a 30-year time period, they could save a total of $200 billion in electricity and reduce carbon emissions by 1.3 billion tons. An action as small as exchanging an old light bulb for an LED lamp can have a huge impact on a retail business’ pocket and their carbon footprint.
