New London, Wis. – When representatives from Focus on Energy’s Community Small Business Offering (CSBO) came to the New London area in June, Ryan McNichols at Titan Industries saw an opportunity.
McNichols, the plant manager, called and scheduled one of the free energy assessments the CSBO program offered. A walk-through of the facility identified lighting as the project with the most potential energy and cost savings.
“We worked alongside [Energy Advisor] Bill Lobner from Focus on Energy in order to calculate cost savings and evaluate the effectiveness of the new lighting,” McNichols said. “Not only did Bill help us with this, but he also ensured that we understood how to apply the energy incentive to our project.”
Jeremy Bellile with BHN Lighting, a Focus on Energy Trade Ally contractor, was there during the walk-through and provided McNichols with a proposal to upgrade both the interior and exterior lighting to energy-efficient LED bulbs and fixtures. Focus on Energy and the company’s utilities, We Energies and New London Utilities, provided a nearly $15,000 incentive payment to help offset the cost of the lighting upgrades.
The lighting changes will help Titian Industries decrease its electricity use by an estimated 87,000 kilowatt hours annually, which would mean a $7,000 per year reduction in the company’s energy bill. Titan Industries is now looking at the cost-saving potential of other energy efficiency projects through the Focus on Energy program.
“This effort by Focus on Energy greatly impacted our payback time period for the project,” McNichols said. “We strongly recommend working with Bill and Focus on Energy upfront if thinking about moving forward with any energy efficiency projects.”
Focus on Energy is funded by 107 Wisconsin utilities. The most recent independent evaluation found every $1 invested in Focus on Energy programs creates $5.93 in benefits for Wisconsin, including economic benefits, reduced energy costs, and reduced pollution.
About Focus on Energy
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities' statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state's investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin's growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com.
