Customer Spotlight: Industrial/Warehouse Lighting.
Shining a Light on Savings!
A southern Mississippi industrial materials company cuts
operating costs with new warehouse lighting.
Axiall makes plastic polymer materials, including polyvinyl chloride and chlorinated
polyvinyl chloride compounds. Customers worldwide use these materials to
manufacture pipe, doors, windows, food packaging, bank cards and other products.
The company produces these materials at its four compounding facilities in
Mississippi. The Gallman plant, about 30 miles south of Jackson, is the company’s
largest compound plant and one of the largest compounding facilities in the United
States. Through an energy-intensive process requiring significant horsepower and
thermal heat, the Gallman plant produces 1 million pounds of 3.5-millimeter PVC
and CPVC pellets per day. The plant also has a large warehouse where it receives
raw materials and stores finished goods before shipping them to customers. The
warehouse lights stay on 24/7 to illuminate round-the-clock operations.
“Electrical energy costs are our most significant operating expense,” says Larry
Foster, maintenance supervisor at the Gallman plant. “We are always looking for
ways to reduce our operating costs, including through energy conservation.”
The Opportunity.
In early 2015, Larry began looking into more efficient lighting for the warehouse,
where metal halide and high-pressure sodium bulbs were losing light output as
they got older and required frequent replacement. Light from these high-intensity
discharge bulbs shine between yellow and red, making the color of objects in the
warehouse appear dull and less natural. To dispose of used bulbs, staff had to
box and ship them to a professional disposal company. Plus, the bulbs gave off
a tremendous amount of heat. Given the heat generated through the production
process, the plant is always warm and can get quite hot during the summer.
Anything that could reduce heat coming off the bulbs was welcome.
When an Entergy Solutions for Business account manager told Larry about the
incentives offered by Entergy Mississippi to replace old bulbs with energy-saving
LEDs, he worked with a local vendor to install some trial lighting. He installed six
bulbs in one corner of the warehouse and saw that, although the bulbs had less
wattage than the previous bulbs, they provided more light. This benefit, plus a
five-year vendor warranty on the bulbs and Entergy Mississippi’s incentives,
prompted Larry to convert the rest of the warehouse lighting. “By reducing the
capital needed to pull this project off,” Larry says, “we were able to make it happen.”
Larry Foster, Maintenance Supervisor
at Axiall’s Gallman Plant.
Converting high-intensity discharge
lighting to LEDs has helped Larry
Foster’s company save nearly
241,000 kWh per year and reduce
operating expenses.
ENTERGY MISSISSIPPI’S PROGRAM:
ENTERGY SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS
PRESCRIPTIVE LIGHTING
Energy Savings: 240,940 kWh/Year
Total Project Cost: $29,755
Incentives Paid: $9,425
Cost to Customer: $20,330
Payback: 1.5 Years
Estimated Lifetime Energy Savings:
2,769,425 kWh
The Project.
The conversions took place in September 2015, with contractors performing
the work in sections of the warehouse. Entergy Mississippi provided $9,425 in
incentives to replace 145 250w HID fixtures with LED technology. The new
100-watt LEDs plugged directly into a ceiling receptacle, making maintenance
much easier than it had been with the previous, pendulum-mounted light fixtures.
“Now, if a light fails, we’ll simply unplug it and hook a new one up in its place,”
Larry says. “For our maintenance group, that’s a big plus.”
The Benefits.
Larry estimates the plant will save nearly 241,000 kWh of energy per year, which,
along with the incentives from Entergy Mississippi, means the investment will pay
for itself in 1.5 years. Operators in the warehouse have noticed it is much brighter
and easier to see box labels, tools and other supplies, especially at night.
In addition to approximately 60 percent energy reduction, the company also
eliminated the need to dispose of the HID bulbs. The LEDs provide added safety,
too. If the lights are ever off in the warehouse, when they are turned back on, LEDs
are immediately fully lit, helping employees to work safely. HID bulbs generally
have a delay—sometimes up to 15 minutes—before they are fully lit.
In the past, heat generated by the production process and gas bulbs caused ballast
problems. The plant had to replace lighting in production areas because the
ballasts holding up the metal halide lights in the ceiling could not withstand the
heat. Cool operation of LEDs can better withstand the heat, making them ideal for
the facility’s production areas.
The Future.
Axiall is already looking into converting other lighting at the Gallman plant,
including changing office lighting to LEDs. Another Axiall facility has installed
some pendulum-mounted LEDs as well. “We’re gaining the benefits we
anticipated,” Larry says. “I wouldn’t hesitate to work with Entergy Mississippi on
another energy efficiency project.”
White light from LEDs makes it easier
for operators to see in the warehouse,
day and night. Package labels that had
looked dim under the old lighting are
now easier to read.
“Axiall is dedicated to the continual improvement of
our processes, products and services. Incentives from
Entergy made it easier to do something we already
knew was a good idea.”
Larry Foster, Maintenance Supervisor at Axiall’s Gallman Plant
For more information
Visit: EntergySolutionsMS.com/Business.
Email: EntergySolutionsforBusiness@icfi.com.
Call: 844-523-9979.
A message from Entergy Mississippi, Inc. ©2016 Entergy Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Entergy Solutions program is an energy efficiency program and not affiliated with Entergy Solutions, LLC. Authorized by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.