If you’re anything like me, you understand why the word math is often followed by the word problem.
Figuring energy savings isn’t such a big deal if you understand that no matter how many steps you choose to take to get there, it really only boils down to:
KILOWATTS SAVED X OPERATING HOURS X UTILITY RATE.
That’s it!
Want an example? I thought you might…Let’s say you have 100 ea. 400 watt metal halides in your warehouse (shame on you, it’s 2010!) and you are considering a 4LT T5 High bay retrofit. You operate 4000 hrs. a year and your utility rate for the year averages out to $.14.
So we have what we need, because you called to ask us what the system watts (the draw of the lamp and ballast combination) were , we’re good to go.
- (458-236) x 100= 22,200 system watts saved
- 22,200 / 1000= 22.2 kW saved (because a kilowatt is 1000 watts)
- 22.2 kW saved x 4000 hrs. = 88,800 kWh saved
- 88,800 kWh saved x .14= $12,432 annual savings!
So I did that in 4 steps. If you’re still confused, or would prefer to do it in ONE STEP…give us a call and we’ll do it for you.