Hobart business lights way to energy, cost savings

HOBART | Point Imaging is the lighting the way with illumination that reduces not only the company's carbon footprint but also offers multiple benefits.

"It's a win–win for the environment and a win–win for Northwest Indiana," said Greg Burdett, vice–president of finance. "Everybody benefits."

Point Imaging, a local large format digital printer, has replaced 137 high–intensity discharge, or HID, light fixtures with high–intensity fluorescent, or HIF, technology. The cost of the project was $30,000.

"It was important for us to make the change," said Marco Perez, director of marketing. "In every aspect of our business, we are committed to the highest level of sustainability. We all gain when we sustain."

The return–on–investment is expected to be less than two years. The new lighting platform reduces the facility's light energy consumption by 59 percent or 182,654 kilowatt–hours per year, saving the location $18,000 in direct lighting costs annually.

Burdett said air conditioning costs will be less since the lights don't generate as much heat. Tony Vlastelica, of Orion Energy Systems, said HIF technology converts about 96 percent of the input watts into light compared to 35 percent for HID lighting.

HIF operates at less than 120 degrees compared to 1,000 degrees for HID lighting.

With HIF, Point Imaging will prevent approximately 121 tons of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere every year, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency is the equivalent of saving more than 301,565 gallons of gasoline.

The company earned the Orion Energy Systems' Environmental Stewardship Award for reversing instead of building more megawatts. For taking a chunk of power off the electrical grid, the company is also eligible for a utility energy credit.

Its other ecological initiatives including a recycling program, offering alternatives for popular substrates, and a vendor select program. It also earned a Sustainable Green Printing Partnership certification, a recognized standard in the print industry.

Burdett said an added benefit is the uniform, full–spectrum quality of the bulb which is comparable to sunlight at high noon.

"Color is very important in what we do and this brightened up the entire shop," he said. "When something comes off the machinery with this light it looks very nice. This is much more consistent and it helps out our manufacturing process."