IDEC Corp. announced the completion of a 162-kilowatt solar electric system and new efficient warehouse lighting system at IDEC's U.S. corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.
Lime Energy and REC Solar Inc. replaced 400 watt metal halide lights in the warehouse to high-output fluorescent fixtures with motion sensors.
IDEC says the combined savings from the efficient lighting, plus the output of the solar electric system, are projected to reduce electricity consumption by about 25 percent. Savings in utility electricity costs should be closer to 35 percent because most of the energy provided by the solar panels is produced during summer afternoons when electricity rates are highest.
In addition to cost savings, the efficient lighting - coupled with energy supplied from solar power - will help avoid about 505,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year.
This week Coca-Cola said it was nearly done with a lighting retrofit of its California facilities, which is expected to save 5.6 million kilowatt-hours annually. In December, Wegmans said it was going to replace the lighting system at its grocery stores.
