Lighting Update Improves Work Conditions at a Manufacturing Facility

The lighting update saves Metal Sales Manufacturing an estimated $12,181 annually with a 36 percent energy-reduction-savings cost.

Originally equipped with fluorescent bulbs, the Rogers, Minn., plant and storage facility had not had a lighting update in more than 20 years. “We had a mixture of T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps in our location,” says Carey Cross, the Rogers facility’s general manager. “We were wanting better lighting in here and to eliminate the maintenance hassles of constantly changing fluorescent lamps.”

In consultation with Crescent Electric Supply, Metal Sales Manufacturing representatives chose to install 166 EVERLINE BLC48 LED Linear High Bay Luminaires from Universal Lighting Technologies. The crew unplugged the fluorescent lamps and plugged in the LED lamps. The LED technology provides consistent color temperatures without flickering and intensity problems associated with fluorescent lighting. Cross recalls, “During the installation, we could compare the LED lighting with the fluorescent and the LED fixtures created almost a wall of light in comparison. When we stood in the LED-lit areas and looked at the fluorescent lighting, it was like peering into a cave.” Cross added the building’s 42 employees also have noticed a difference in lighting quality.

Metal Sales Manufacturing’s facilities team replaced 276 fluorescent fixtures with an output of 13,200 lumens with 166 LED fixtures putting out 26,391 lumens. It cost the firm $33,854 annually to operate the existing lighting system; the new system costs $21,673 annually. The upgrade saves Metal Sales Manufacturing an estimated $12,181 annually with a 36 percent energy-reduction-savings cost.

The facilities team replaced 276 fluorescent fixtures with 166 LED fixtures.

“When we started working with Crescent on the rebates and ROI calculations, the switch to LED was a no-brainer,” Cross notes. “We estimate the installation will have a payback period of just over two years. It’s hard to find a capital project where you get a payback that fast.”

Founded in 1963, Metal Sales Manufacturing produces metal roofing, wall and building systems in 21 facilities across the U.S. It’s 100,000-square-foot Rogers facility is the most recent to receive a lighting upgrade.