Interstate Warehousing saves big with Groom Energy

Groom Energy and Digital Lumens announced the installation of the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System in three newly expanded Interstate Warehousing facilities located in Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. The new sections use 90 percent less lighting energy than the older portions of the facilities, costing $.04 per sq. ft. to light versus as much as $.51 in the older spaces.

As a result of the significant savings, Interstate has announced plans to upgrade to the Digital Lumens System in all of its refrigerated warehouse facilities to help meet energy efficiency goals.

Operational since the fall of 2010, the 117,000 sq. ft. addition in Indiana is using approximately 43,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy compared to older portions of the facility that consume more than 550,000 kWh. The difference equates to a savings of more than $30,000 per year to operate the new section of the warehouse and approximately 771,000 pounds of CO2 reduced annually.

The Ohio and Tennessee facilities have recently opened and expect similar savings.

Working closely with facility engineers from Interstate, Groom Energy analyzed the existing lighting, selected the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting system, designed the new lighting layout, developed the control scheme and commissioned the systems at all three facilities.

The Digital Lumens System turns lights on instantly in the freezer as operators enter the aisle and off after they leave, maximizing savings. The mesh networked lighting system continuously tracks and reports energy consumption and savings, and also allows easy overrides to turn lights on for maintenance or inventory.

The Interstate expansions were built by Tippmann Construction, an industry leader in the construction of refrigerated distribution facilities. Tippmann focuses on delivering energy efficient systems with leading edge designs that have low maintenance and low operating costs.

“To maintain the leadership that we have earned in the refrigerated warehousing market, it is critical that our facilities offer the latest innovation in the most sustainable manner and at the lowest operating costs in the industry,” Chuck Tippmann, president of Interstate Warehousing said. “Working with Groom Energy to design and install the Digital Lumens System in our newly expanded warehouse allowed us access to the best solution with the least impact on the environment. We are very pleased with the increased light levels, functionality and the significant energy savings and look forward to the results that will be evident in our newest facilities as they become fully operational.”

Edited by Kevin Scarpati