Sponsored Sites Shop Online for Eco-Friendly Products Ekotribe Carbon Consulting Add your site here.

With that in mind, Precision-Paragon P2, a division of Hubbell Lighting, Inc., has released a free web app that provides a starting point, with an estimated range of cost, savings and environmental benefits for lighting retrofit projects in offices, warehouses and manufacturing spaces.

“We wanted to create something that would be easy to use and that would help facility operators understand how retrofits can save money and, at the same time, benefit the environment,” said Ray Pustinger, P2’s vice president and general manager. “The web app is simple and straightforward and presents compelling reasons to implement energy-efficient lighting.”

The Lighting Retrofit Calculator is available on the P2 Web site and can be embedded in most other Web sites.

Here’s how it works:

Select the facility type you’re interested in retrofitting, the amount you’re paying per kW hour of electricity, the square footage of your facility and its annual hours of operation. If you’re unsure about a field, the calculator provides suggestions. Then click “calculate.”

The app quickly processes an initial estimate for project cost, energy savings, cost savings and years to reach payback. It also calculates environmental benefits – such as the number of cars taken off the road for one year, gallons of gasoline not burned and households powered for one year with the electricity that is saved.

“The potential to reduce greenhouse gases and the nation’s reliance on non-renewable resources through retrofits is huge, and this app can help facility operators take the first steps in getting there,” Pustinger said.

“The calculator sets the table for the next steps -- establishing a budget, engaging an energy efficiency professional to evaluate the right technology for the facility and securing investment-grade relighting proposals and scopes of work.”

In California alone, lighting accounts for 35 percent of electricity use in the commercial sector. Those commercial buildings, totaling 5 billion square feet of space, consume more electricity than any other end-use sector in California, according to the Public Utilities Commission.

“We think this web app could really make a difference in so many projects that stall at the starting gate due to the overwhelming array of choices” Pustinger said. “We felt developing the app coincided with our tradition of innovation and creativity. Those are the same strengths we’ve used throughout the years to make energy engineered, customized lighting fixtures.”