There’s nothing quite as unsettling as a dark stairwell.  The thought of having to use a dark stairway instantly brings fear and uncertainty and makes many people feel unsafe.  I think I might even want to walk down the middle of the ramp in a parking garage rather than venture into the unknown of its dark stairwell.  This doesn’t have to be the case! We’re going to discuss stairwell lighting, how to properly light a stairwell, and some features of modern stairwell lights that will even help lower your electric bill! Dangers of Dark Stairwells Every mul … Continue reading

All commercial and industrial customers of West Penn Power can now apply to the Non-Standard Lighting for Business Program to receive cash incentives for energy efficient lighting projects. Eligible customers include schools, local governments, institutions, not-for-profits, private businesses, industrial firms, or any other non-residential facility in the West Penn Power territory. The Non-Standard-Lighting for Business Program provides cash incentives for energy efficient lighting projects, both new construction and retrofit. Equipment must be installed after Octobe … Continue reading

President Obama is proposing new efforts to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings across the country. Last year, commercial buildings consumed roughly 20 percent of all energy in the U.S. economy. Improving energy efficiency in our buildings can create jobs, save money, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and make our air cleaner. The President’s Better Buildings Initiative will make commercial buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade by catalyzing private sector investment through a series of incentives to upgrade offices, stores, sc … Continue reading

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced support for energy-saving commercial building projects as part of an ongoing effort by DOE to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the United States. With money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOE's national laboratories will select and fund technical experts to provide technical guidance to commercial building owners and operators. The goal of this Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) initiative is to increase the energy efficiency of selected new and existing buildings. DOE's CB … Continue reading

We have performed many lighting audits for warehouses and industrial facilities across the country.  In doing this, we have developed a very simple form that captures all of the pertinent information for a lighting audit in a single sheet of paper.  We are happy to share this form with you in hopes that it makes assessing your building's potential for a lighting retrofit easier. The form itself is very simple.  The Customer Information section captures the contact details for the company that owns the building being audited along with the utility company and the rate … Continue reading

On February 12th, the Obama Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient.  Seven federal agencies, including the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Labor and the Small Business Administration, issued a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement of nearly $130 million over five years to create a regional research center that will develop new building efficiency technologies and work with local partners to implement the technologies in area buildings. Since buildings account for nearly 40 percent … Continue reading