Livingston Ace Hardware
The Ace Hardware in Livingston, Montana, is a 13,000 ft2 retail building. The store owner contacted the Montana Resource Efficiency Program (MREP) for assistance with their lighting update. The owner wanted more and brighter energy-efficient lighting in the store. After a lighting audit and analysis, an MREP engineer recommended upgrading the fluorescent tube lighting to 15-watt LED tubes. After the change-out of over 800 bulbs the owner reported a better quality of light and is very happy with the upgrade.
The overall cost of the project was $8,544. The project qualified for $3,961 in rebates from the utility’s rebate program, bringing the net cost to $4,583. This project will also save Ace Hardware approximately $8,900 per year in energy bills, which brings the project a simple payback of less than one year. Here is a summary of the financial aspects of the project:
- Annual bill savings: $8,899
- Estimated project costs: $8,544
- Estimated rebate: $3,961
- Estimated net cost: $4,583
- Estimated kWh savings: 149,729
- Simple payback: 0.52 years