Saving money with energy-efficient upgrades

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Posted on Jun 22 2017 in Steuben County REMC

Josh Durbin, energy advisor for Steuben County REMC, (right)presents a rebate check for $20,119.50 to JICI President Ken Wilson.

Steuben County REMC, in partnership with its wholesale power provider, Wabash Valley Power, offers rebate incentives to co-op members who make energy-efficient upgrades to their existing homes and commercial facilities, as well as efficient choices to new structures. Recently, JICI Construction was the recipient of a POWER MOVES® rebate in the amount of $20,119.50.

The rebate comes after a six-month, multi-phase lighting retrofit to the existing warehouse facility located on Pokagon Trail. The company first tackled the existing 400W metal halide lights, which were a large maintenance burden and had been failing, causing decreased lighting levels in the workspaces.

The JICI management team decided to install new LED lighting in these areas, decreasing its overall use in the facility by 45 percent in recent months. The reduction was, in large part, due to the significant wattage reduction in the LEDs vs. the existing metal halide. However, due to the light output of the LEDs, they were able to replace every fourth metal halide fixture with one LED fixture, taking advantage of the POWER MOVES de-lamping rebate as well.

Another benefit of the new installations is the mounted motion sensors, which mean that employees no longer have to go to the load center at the start and finish of each day to turn on and off the lights. This added perk can attribute up to an additional 25 percent in energy savings.

“We at JICI are constantly looking for ways to be efficient in every aspect of our company, so the move to become more energy-efficient was the responsible and right decision for us,” said Ken Wilson, JICI owner and president. “As northeast Indiana’s premier manufacturing and commercial contractor, it makes sense for us to practice what we preach when we are working with clients by reducing our footprint to be more energy efficient at our headquarters.”

After completing the warehouse lighting, the company decided to replace the exterior building wall packs and is currently pursuing various options to re-lamp the interior office portion of the building. Once that is completed, JICI will qualify for additional rebates.

If you or your company would like to learn more about POWER MOVES rebates for your home or commercial facility, visit www.powermoves.com, or call our certified energy advisor, Josh Durbin, at 260-665-3563 and let us pay you to save!