Federated Rural Electric leads by example with LED lighting

Federated Rural Electric is in the energy sales and conservation business. We want our customers to use energy wisely, so it was important that we set a good example in our own facilities.

1. We upgraded the office T-8 fluorescents to new LED fixtures
2. We upgraded the outdoor lighting and highway sign to LEDs

1. While we have an electrician on staff, he is busy with his regular duties. It was a good move to hire a contractor to do our lighting conversion so that it could be done in an efficient manner.
2. We ran into budget constraints. The lighting rebates were lower than expected, so we will probably do the cold storage conversion next year (these lights used less often, so that payback is slower).

Sharing: We posted photos about the different stages of the lighting project on our Facebook page (building | sign), did a story in our August 2018 Connections newsletter, and talked about it at the annual meeting. We also hosted a group of electrical students from Minnesota West that learned about our lighting project, electric car, and recently installed generator that provides backup power.

Reactions: At first employees thought the new LED lights were too bright, but they adjusted within a week and we now have a better lit facility. Plus, the outside lights are white instead of orange, providing better quality lighting with more coverage.