Foothills Brewing LED Lighting Upgrade: Saves 68% in Annual Operational Costs, Highlights Eco-Friendly Philosophy
The Challenge
Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem, NC is an award-winning brewery featuring some of the best hand-crafted beers in the Southeast. Anyone watching the Durham Bulls play at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park has probably sipped a Foothills IPA.
Its new beer releases of 2017 will be part of a new “Craft Happiness IPA Project” that highlights local, national, and global causes. Each month, the brewery will focus on a human, environmental, or animal awareness campaign. It was no surprise when the owners requested the assistance of GreenTech Solutions Group to help reduce the brewery’s carbon footprint.
The brewery was operating on old, outdated fluorescent and high bay fixtures. The previous lighting was dim and inefficient, so safety, rising costs, and quality control were big concerns, according to Foothills Brewing President Jamie Bartholomaus.
The Solution
GreenTech carefully assessed the lighting needs and energy usage of the brewery and custom-designed a lighting plan. The LED lighting upgrade in the brewery brought significant energy savings for the 48,000-square-foot facility. After legacy high bays and T12 fluorescents were replaced with energy-efficient LED fixtures, the brewery immediately experienced a 58% reduction in lighting energy usage.
The lighting upgrade began by illuminating dark areas behind the brewing tanks with LED wall packs. After removing all of the 8-foot strip lights, high lumen LED high bays were strategically placed around tanks, packaging, and bottling lines to aid in production and cleanup. The maintenance shop was also upgraded with LED tubes providing better lighting for task performance.
The Results
The upgrade resulted in improved overall lighting quality, providing a safer and more pleasant atmosphere. It also allows the employees to better inspect the final product, something Foothills takes very seriously.
A summary of benefits is as follows:
- 58% reduction in annual lighting energy usage
- 1.8 year payback period
- 68% reduction in annual operational costs
- 30% savings in energy incentives
- 44,172 kWh reduction in annual lighting energy usage
“We take pride in our advocacy efforts at Foothills and upgrading the lighting to LEDs is just a small step we can take to make a big impact on the environment,” said Foothills Brewing President Jamie Bartholomaus. “The people at GreenTech helped us to make changes that will continue to save us energy and save on our bottom line, so we can continue to invest in bringing the public the best, top-quality beers.”
GreenTech helped secure 30% of the project’s upfront costs in energy savings for the brewery, resulting in a quick 1.8 year payback period. LED lighting is longer lasting, so the bulbs will need to be replaced much less often, offering significant savings on maintenance and the cost of replacement bulbs. In fact, the LED upgrade will continue to yield Foothills a 68% savings in annual operational costs.
“We commend Foothills Brewing for their vision and environmental advocacy,” said GreenTech CEO Glenn Edmonds. “Whether it’s with the LED lighting upgrade or spotlighting an environmental cause with their IPAs, the folks at Foothills are committed to making a large impact with their business.”
The LED lighting retrofit also resulted in a 44,172 kWh reduction in annual lighting energy usage, which is the equivalent of planting 26 acres of forest or consuming 3,508 gallons of gasoline. For a business committed to making a big impact on the environment, Foothills Brewing fulfilled that commitment by implementing the lighting solutions provided by the team at GreenTech Solutions Group. Not only will patrons and employees enjoy a better lit atmosphere within the brewery, the environment will benefit as well.
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