Green Light for the Co-op

By Jason Maring, Assistant Director of Operations
Last year, City Market harnessed the power of the sun, working with groSolar to install 136 roof-top solar panels. This year, we focused on the green benefits of changing our in-store lighting.

City Market recently partnered with Leading Edge Design Group, Digital Lumens and Burlington Electric Department (BED) to successfully implement an energy efficient LED lighting upgrade for the Co-op as part of our ongoing mission to reduce our storewide energy consumption.

The first phase of the project involved replacing a series of aging 400-watt metal halide fixtures, track lighting and freezer lights throughout the store. After careful evaluation, City Market selected the LED-based Intelligent Lighting System from Digital Lumens that uses Midbay Intelligent Light Engines, which distribute light evenly in open spaces while reducing energy use. The LightRules lighting management software wirelessly controls light output, records the amount of power consumed and provides City Market staff with web-based reports showing key performance data. The use of motion sensors allows for dimming of key lights when activity is not detected for 30 seconds, further reducing energy consumption.

Burlington Electric Department was then able to provide an energy efficiency incentive on the basis of the energy savings, which significantly enhanced City Market’s return on this investment. Based on the documented energy savings and the substantial support from BED, this phase of City Market’s lighting retrofit is expected to pay for itself in less than 1 ½ years.

By using dramatically less power than earlier fixtures and by intelligently managing light delivery, the Digital Lumens system is enabling City Market to save over 94,000 kWh of energy per year and over 64 tons of carbon annually. Since the completion of the project, the Co-op has seen the average kWh per customer drop nearly 20%. Added benefits are an increased lighting life cycle from 8,500 hours to 60,000 hours, reduced burden on the air conditioning system, reduction of maintenance cost and downtime, improved product presentation, and the elimination of premature aging of produce and meat caused by the ultra-violet light spectrum.

“The Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System installed by Leading Edge Design Group is delivering dramatic cost savings and decreasing our energy usage, while also giving accurate data on lighting energy consumption storewide,” said Brent Demers, Facilities Manager for City Market. “We now have accurate information on just how much energy we’re using and where, which helps us manage our overall consumption more effectively. In addition, numerous customers have complimented us on the quality of light, meaning that we’re saving energy and making our customers happy. Both are signs of a successful project,” added Demers.

Phase two of the retrofit will focus on replacing Front End lighting, lighting on the receiving dock, parking lot lights and as well as several other key areas of the store and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.