PECO Commercial and Industrial Solutions
Case Study – Office Building

Lighting Upgrades at DNV GL Boost Comfort, Savings and Security

Total Project Energy Savings

$4,360 (Annual)
32,518 kWh

Incentives Paid

$4,257

Ten-Year Savings

$43,600

For Nick Meier and Mohamed Kassamali, energy engineers at global consulting firm DNV GL, the decision to make energy efficiency upgrades at their eastern Pennsylvania facility was a matter of practicing what they preach. DNV GL is a contractor supporting PECO’s Commercial and Industrial Solutions, and Meier and Kassamali regularly advise local businesses on making energy-saving upgrades.

DNV GL believes in making the world safer, smarter and greener, so its corporate headquarters set a goal of reducing energy consumption by 5% at its two-story Philadelphia-area office building. The company’s onsite energy efficiency team set out to shatter that goal with savings of 10%–15% on energy costs. Meier and Kassamali knew that replacing outdated lighting would make an immediate and substantial contribution toward the goal.

“We have a lot of expertise in lighting upgrades and knew they would provide the most punch for the cost,” said Meier. “We minimized our spending and maximized our energy savings.” In fact, the upgrades are saving DNV GL 15%–32% on energy costs, which will help the company recoup its investment in about 18 months.

The indoor and outdoor retrofit lighting project included switching over 300 fluorescent bulbs, 54 CFLs and seven metal halide pole lights to LEDs. Since the installation, the building’s employees and customers are enjoying better quality lighting and a safer working environment.

“We achieved all the goals we set out to do and learned a lot in the process about what our customers go through,” Kassamali said. As a result, he added, “we can make the way we do our job a little bit better and easier for the customer.”

The pair already are planning ahead to DNV GL’s next upgrade project with PECO.

“There is still room for improvement,” said Meier. “We could upgrade the lighting even further with occupancy sensors or pursue HVAC opportunities. We’ll definitely push for that in the future. Why not lower the cost of your month-to-month activity if you can be more efficient and save money?”