ENTERGY MISSISSIPPI’S PROGRAM: ENTERGY SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS PRESCRIPTIVE LIGHTING

Energy Savings: 240,940 kWh/Year

Total Project Cost: $29,755

Incentives Paid: $9,425

Cost to Customer: $20,330

Payback: 1.5 Years

Estimated Lifetime Energy Savings: 2,769,425 kWh

Shining a Light on Savings!A southern Mississippi industrial materials company cuts operating costs with new warehouse lighting.Axiall makes plastic polymer materials, including polyvinyl chloride and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride compounds. Customers worldwide use these materials to manufacture pipe, doors, windows, food packaging, bank cards and other products.

The company produces these materials at its four compounding facilities in Mississippi. The Gallman plant, about 30 miles south of Jackson, is the company’s largest compound plant and one of the largest compounding facilities in the United States. Through an energy-intensive process requiring significant horsepower and thermal heat, the Gallman plant produces 1 million pounds of 3.5-millimeter PVC and CPVC pellets per day. The plant also has a large warehouse where it receives raw materials and stores finished goods before shipping them to customers. The warehouse lights stay on 24/7 to illuminate round-the-clock operations.

“Electrical energy costs are our most significant operating expense,” says Larry Foster, maintenance supervisor at the Gallman plant. “We are always looking for ways to reduce our operating costs, including through energy conservation.”

The OpportunityIn early 2015, Larry began looking into more efficient lighting for the warehouse, where metal halide and high-pressure sodium bulbs were losing light output as they got older, and required frequent replacement. Light from these high-intensity discharge bulbs shines between yellow and red, making the color of objects in the warehouse appear dull and less natural. To dispose of used bulbs, staff had to box and ship them to a professional disposal company. Plus, the bulbs gave off a tremendous amount of heat. Given the heat generated through the production process, the plant is always warm and can get quite hot during the summer. Anything that could reduce heat coming off the bulbs was welcome.

When an Entergy Solutions for Business account manager told Larry about the incentives offered by Entergy Mississippi to replace old bulbs with energy-saving LEDs, he worked with a local vendor to install some trial lighting. He installed six bulbs in one corner of the warehouse and saw that, although the bulbs had less wattage than the previous bulbs, they provided more light. This benefit, plus a five-year vendor warranty on the bulbs and Entergy Mississippi’s incentives, prompted Larry to convert the rest of the warehouse lighting. “By reducing the capital needed to pull this project off,” Larry says, “we were able to make it happen.”

Customer Spotlight: Industrial/Warehouse Lighting

Larry Foster, Maintenance Supervisor at Axiall’s Gallman Plant

Converting high-intensity discharge lighting to LEDs has helped Larry’s company save nearly 241,000 kWh per year and reduce operating expenses.

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The ProjectThe conversions took place in September 2015, with contractors performing the work in sections of the warehouse. Entergy Mississippi provided $9,425 in incentives to replace 145 250w HID fixtures with LED technology. The new 100-watt LEDs plugged directly into a ceiling receptacle, making maintenance much easier than it had been with the previous, pendulum-mounted light fixtures. “Now, if a light fails, we’ll simply unplug it and hook a new one up in its place,” Larry says. “For our maintenance group, that’s a big plus.”

The BenefitsLarry estimates the plant will save nearly 241,000 kWh of energy per year, which, along with the incentives from Entergy Mississippi, means the investment will pay for itself in 1.5 years. Operators in the warehouse have noticed it is much brighter and easier to see box labels, tools and other supplies, especially at night.

In addition to approximately 60 percent energy reduction, the company also eliminated the need to dispose of the HID bulbs. The LEDs provide added safety, too. If the lights are ever off in the warehouse, when they are turned back on, LEDs are immediately fully lit, helping employees to work safely. HID bulbs generally have a delay – sometimes up to 15 minutes – before they are fully lit.

In the past, heat generated by the production process and gas bulbs caused ballast problems. The plant had to replace lighting in production areas because the ballasts holding up the metal halide lights in the ceiling could not withstand the heat. Cool operation of LEDs can better withstand the heat, making them ideal for the facility’s production areas.

The FutureAxiall is already looking into converting other lighting at the Gallman plant, including changing office lighting to LEDs. Another Axiall facility has installed some pendulum-mounted LEDs as well. “We’re gaining the benefits we anticipated,” Larry says. “I wouldn’t hesitate to work with Entergy Mississippi on another energy efficiency project.”

For More InformationVisit: entergysolutionsms.com/business Email: entergybusinesssolutions@icf.com Call: 844-523-9979

“Axiall is dedicated to the continual improvement of our processes, products and services. Incentives from Entergy made it easier to do something we already knew was a good idea.”Larry Foster, Maintenance Supervisor at Axiall’s Gallman Plant

White light from LEDs makes it easier for operators to see in the warehouse, day and night. Package labels that had looked dim under the old lighting are now easier to read.

A message from Entergy Mississippi, Inc. ©2017 Entergy Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Entergy Solutions program is an energy efficiency program and not affiliated with Entergy Solutions, LLC. Authorized by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

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