We had a visit last week from a BGE rep talking about a program to replace all of our existing fluorescent lighting with LED lighting. Today they came back with the results their audit and proposal.
It sounds too good to be true so I was hoping some business owner here has already done this.
Here is a quick summary of their proposal.
Replace 43 2x4 95w fixtures with 35w LED panels
Replace 22 8ft 110w Shop fixtures with 40w High Output LED Fixtures.
They calculated our current lighting cost savings at $206 month.
The cost to do the change over is $31,680
There is some Maryland taxpayer funded program called Empower Maryland and that program would cover about $21K of the cost.
BGE then covers $5500 then there is $1000 from some other program and the finance our portion and we pay about $380 a month for 12 months.
That comes out to an additional $174 per month for the first year and our cost is paid off after 23 months.
It looks like we have to commit to a 7 year agreement.
I looked at doing this on my own buying the lights and having my own guys swap out the bulbs and that would cost me about $2600. However the bulbs I can find are not as bright or energy efficient as the BGE proposal. Also BGE will replace the fixtures themselves which cost a lot more than just the bulbs. Many of the office ceiling light fixtures are as old as the building and thats at least 35yrs old. So the DIY solution would cost a little less, payoff sooner, but wont be esthetic upgrade or an improvement in lighting.
So if anyone has done this for their business or knows about the program, I would to hear those opinions.
It sounds too good to be true so I was hoping some business owner here has already done this.
Here is a quick summary of their proposal.
Replace 43 2x4 95w fixtures with 35w LED panels
Replace 22 8ft 110w Shop fixtures with 40w High Output LED Fixtures.
They calculated our current lighting cost savings at $206 month.
The cost to do the change over is $31,680
There is some Maryland taxpayer funded program called Empower Maryland and that program would cover about $21K of the cost.
BGE then covers $5500 then there is $1000 from some other program and the finance our portion and we pay about $380 a month for 12 months.
That comes out to an additional $174 per month for the first year and our cost is paid off after 23 months.
It looks like we have to commit to a 7 year agreement.
I looked at doing this on my own buying the lights and having my own guys swap out the bulbs and that would cost me about $2600. However the bulbs I can find are not as bright or energy efficient as the BGE proposal. Also BGE will replace the fixtures themselves which cost a lot more than just the bulbs. Many of the office ceiling light fixtures are as old as the building and thats at least 35yrs old. So the DIY solution would cost a little less, payoff sooner, but wont be esthetic upgrade or an improvement in lighting.
So if anyone has done this for their business or knows about the program, I would to hear those opinions.