T8s put light on print products: Arandell Corporation's lighting retrofit adds value to company and customers.

Arandell Corporation, producer of high-quality direct-mail catalogs for the world's leading retail marketers from its facility in Menomonee Falls, WI, found its decision to change plant lighting from the common high-pressure sodium variety to the T8 fluorescent technology of Orion Energy Services (Plymouth, WI.) to be a more cost-effective approach to energy savings.

The subject of lighting came up when Arandell had been working on plans to obtain a new piece of printing equipment. The new equipment required its own section of the facility that Arandell would need to develop prior to installation. Dave Treis, vice president and general manager, would soon learn that new lighting would also be in order for the facility.

"When we heard how easily Orion installed the new luminaires at other printing companies, and how energy-efficient they were, how they reduced glare, and how working area light increased with the candle-power from these luminaires, we were impressed," Treis said. "Since Arandell had similar needs, we gave Orion a call."

To demonstrate the effectiveness of Orion lighting, Orion came in and set up luminaires with meters as a test. "We were able to see the utility meter spin in a side-by-side comparison between our old lights and Orion's. You could see exactly how much power we were going to be saving. After that demonstration, it became an easy decision for Arandell to install Orion products."

Initially, Orion lights were only going to be installed in the new addition. "But we were so pleased with the results that we consulted Orion again for new lighting in the entire facility."

Orion's larger proposal called for retrofitting the entire production facility and showed a return on investment of one to two years. Energy savings were guaranteed under terms of a performance contract. Arandell's yearly electrical savings came to $97,000. "Yes, we were skeptical; we've done lighting projects in the past, and they didn't all work out too well," said Treis. "But with the guarantee, it was an easy decision." The $97,000 savings is calculated from a reduction of 1.78 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. Additionally, the energy savings qualified the project for a $30,000 energy-efficiency grant from the state of Wisconsin, which offset installation costs for Arandell.

Treis adds, "As Orion had predicted, with the new luminaires, Arandell experienced a 50% reduction in lighting power costs and 60% gain in work area lighting." As part of its contract with Orion, in three years Arandell will receive all new lamps for its luminaires at no additional cost, saving Arandell thousands of dollars in the cost of lamps alone.