Manufacturing
Through our entrenched experience in designing energy efficient lighting solutions for Manufacturing facilities, we have documented several key learnings. These learnings demonstrate our ability to identify and manage the unique engineering challenges associated with every lighting project.
Cleaning
Many manufacturing facilities are required to dedicate one shift for cleaning. This requires the use of high pressure water and, in some cases, chemicals which ultimately can reach and penetrate lighting fixtures. This forces SES to evaluate fixture locations and potentially change fixture types in order to protect them from water and chemicals. Typically a vapor tight or waterproof fixture is used in these applications.
Temperature
Many of the facilities will have freezers that operate at temperatures in the range of 35 degrees to -40 degrees. The correct ballast and fixtures are critical in these applications to ensure proper performance. What works at 35 degrees may not be appropriate at -35 degrees.
Product Safety
Coated lamps have become much of the standard in production areas throughout facilities engaged in the production of consumables, pharmaceuticals, topicals or ingredients. Customers are concerned about breakage that could contaminate these products. Sometimes SES has recommended the use of these lamps in offices to avoid non-coated lamps being mistakenly installed in the production and product areas.
Rebates
The identification and qualification of utility rebates and EPAct tax credits can have a substantial impact on the bottom line of the project. SES projects always calculate payback as part of their financial analysis and auditing services. Both the costs and the Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) expense reductions plus the energy savings are factored into the algorithm. The inclusion of the rebates significantly reduces the payback period for their projects. SES partners with their clients to identify available rebates in the client’s geographical area.
Lamp Location
During the course of a project, SES identifies lamps that may need to be re-located to properly focus light in the facility. The correct focus can greatly improve the quality of light in an area resulting in higher productivity of the staff. If the move is within a specific range, the cost of relocating the lamp is included in the project.
Regulatory Issues
Production facilities are often subject to a variety of federal and state regulations regarding the materials they handle and the final product they produce. Safety and quality concerns must be factored into the design and on-site execution of any lighting project in a manufacturing facility. Knowing what to do and not do could be the difference between a successful project and a future hassle caused by an alleged irregularity or potential violation of a regulatory provision. This is especially critical in facilities governed by FDA and EPA guidelines and includes everything down to proper disposal of replaced fixtures and ballasts.
High Task Areas vs. Low Task Areas
Employee tasks vary in manufacturing environments. Some require higher levels of lighting than others. Our design team uses computer generated photometric programs to accurately design lighting layouts for different task areas of the facility. Light level diagrams are created prior to installation allowing designers to specify the optimal number of fixtures in different work areas based on the tasks performed in the areas. Our design not only contributed to excellent lighting conditions but also minimized the number of luminaries used, allowing for maximum energy efficiency.
Case Study - Heinz
The Heinz manufacturing facility in Fremont, OH knew they needed to improve the quality of their lighting but they didn’t have the time or the resources to research, design and upgrade their fixtures. What initially started as a holistic energy saving evaluation turned into a stand alone lighting project. Eco Engineering/Sun Energy Solutions applied their knowledge and expertise to help Heinz meet their lighting and energy savings objectives by engineering a solution that used the appropriate lighting design for every area of the plant.
Similar to many manufacturing environments, Heinz has lighting systems in three unique settings that each demands a custom solution. There is the production area, and in this case a food product, a warehouse and offices. Because the production area involved a food product SES chose coated lamps. For the entire facility a one-for-one retrofit replaced old technology that had degraded to half of its original light. By installing new technology that degrades to less than 10% of its original light, the once dark facility was now dramatically brighter - creating environmental, safety and worker productivity implications that were extremely positive. And by retrofitting with instant-on technology they no longer have warm up periods of over five minutes that impact the efficiency of the entire facility. Sensors were also installed in appropriate areas to manage power consumption. SES designed a lighting system for Heinz that dramatically reduced the number of lamp SKU's reducing Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) expenses and with the lamps, fixture and ballasts that they installed they reduced energy consumption by over 50%. In addition to these cost benefits, SES assisted Heinz in securing utility rebates and the EPAct tax credit which funded over 1/3 of the project.
Each of Heinz facility managers has the autonomy and authority to contract with the vendors of their choice. SES proved their knowledge and engineering expertise to the Heinz - Fremont facility manager through their extensive audit and financial analysis. And, unlike the proposals received from manufacturers of lighting equipment, SES offered a technology neutral solution which made the most sense for the different spaces within the facility. Technology neutrality convinced Heinz - Fremont that they were truly receiving the best solutions and at the best price. Heinz - Fremont was so satisfied with the results of the SES lighting project that they are not only adding new lighting fixtures to their plant, they are also presenting the process and results on behalf of SES to other facility managers.
Case Study - Industrial
A manufacturing facility in California realized they needed a lighting and lighting control upgrade to not only improve their employee's work experience but also to decrease the facilities monthly utility expenditures. They required energy efficiency modifications in their office space, warehouse and their production floor.
To achieve the projected savings that were estimated in the energy audit and the financial analysis a multi-faceted plan was executed including:
- Retrofitting office space lighting with energy efficient T8 lamps and electronic ballasts
- Configuring occupancy sensors in offices, office corridors and cubicle spaces
- Installing energy efficient T-5HO high bay lighting in the production floor
- Configuring high bay occupancy sensors in the warehouse aisles
- Configuring photocell sensors to the fixtures adjacent to roll-up shipping doors
To maximize energy efficiency the SES design team used computer generated photometric programs to accurately design lighting layouts for different task areas of the facility. Light level diagrams created prior to installation allowed designers to specify the optimal number of fixtures in different work areas of the facility based on the employee tasks. Areas of high visual task performance were installed with high foot-candle fixtures while areas of lower visual tasks were installed with lower foot-candle fixtures. The result was excellent lighted conditions that minimized the number of luminaries.
Controls were also installed to minimize energy consumption. Photocell sensors were installed in areas adjacent to the loading dock and other sources of natural daylight. This provided daylight harvesting as natural light levels increased in these areas. The light fixtures will automatically deactivate when the light levels from the entering sunlight reaches a specified threshold. In addition, high bay occupancy sensors were configured in the warehouse aisles to activate and deactivate based on employee presence in the area.
Since the completion of the project, energy consumption has been tracked in the facility. The monthly utility expenditure has decreased on average over $3,000 per month, average daily KWH has dropped 886KWH and this facility qualified for a $19,000 Southern California Edison rebate. All meeting the initial projections of the project based on the energy audit.
Sun Energy Solutions
The Next Generation of Lighting Efficiency