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Nov. 18, 2015 — Lighting accounts for 16 percent of Cleveland Clinic’s total energy use and was identified as the health system’s most visible, accessible, and immediate opportunity to reduce energy.
After completing a comprehensive lighting systems analysis, the clinic began implementing an enterprise energy demand reduction strategy in October 2015 to improve energy efficiency by replacing all 250,000 fluorescent light bulbs located throughout the health system’s facilities across Northeast Ohio.
The project will take 18 months to complete with a goal of replacing 5,000 light bulbs each week and an expected cost savings of $2 million each year.
In 2010, Cleveland Clinic joined the Department of Energy’s Better Building Challenge in setting a goal of reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent in 2020.
In addition to LED lighting efforts, Cleveland Clinic has achieved significant energy reduction with other efforts including chiller optimization, upgrades to new equipment, and thermostat controls.
The benefits of the clinic's LED lighting rollout include:
• Cuts electric consumption by 28,600,000 kilowatts each year — roughly the same as removing about 2,600 houses off the electrical grid — for a total annual savings of $2 million.
• Reduces carbon footprint by nearly 19,400 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to taking 3,600 cars off the road.
• Decreases waste. ENERGY STAR-qualified LED lights last up to 10 years, nearly 2.5 times longer than ENERGY STAR-qualified fluorescent lighting, and they are mercury-free, which translates into safer disposal.
• Creates nearly 20 new jobs in the local community — between five and 10 in manufacturing positions at Energy Focus and 10 in installation jobs with Evergreen Cooperative.
For more information about Cleveland Clinic, visit myclevelandclinic.org/.
