Energy Efficiency
G&T Cuts Costs with LEDs
When it comes to improving energy efficiency, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has gone beyond thinking outside the box.
Once its parking lot lights changed to LEDs, Tri-State G&T said “the only original equipment left standing was the poles.” (Photo By: Tri-State G&T)
The G&T went outside the building, installing new energy-efficient lighting technology in the parking lot of its Westminster, Colo., headquarters.
According to Jim Van Someren, Tri-State’s communications manager, the difference between the light provided by the 153-watt light-emitting diode—LED—technology installed late last month and the 400-watt metal halide lights they replaced is like day and night.
The LED lights do a better job of lighting the lot while using significantly less energy, resulting in an estimated two-thirds reduction in energy consumption and an anticipated payback of less than nine years, Van Someren said.
The changeover made Tri-State the first commercial organization in the Rocky Mountain region to employ LEDs on such a scale, the G&T reported.
Tri-State says the installation of the new parking lot lights is part of a five-year pilot program at its headquarters that began with the installation late last year of energy-saving lighting technology in some meeting rooms.
Both the exterior and interior LED installations will serve as demonstration areas for the G&T’s member co-ops, other utilities and businesses that may be interested in installing similar technology in their facilities, Tri-State said.
“We see this project as an example of what one G&T is doing to increase its efficiency, decrease its energy consumption, protect the environment and save money during these tough economic times,” Van Someren said.