Leapfrog Lighting LED Lamp Financing for Business Removes Final Barrier to Energy-Efficient Retrofit
Ottawa, Canada (PRWEB) March 04, 2014 -- For businesses, incandescent, fluorescent and halogen lighting options are largely discredited for environmental and health reasons. LED lighting is held back from mainstream adoption only by initial retrofit costs, according to a poll by KRC research.* In a move to remove the final barrier to entry for businesses, Leapfrog has arranged a no-down payment financing option for LED lighting installs. Businesses are still eligible for any available electric company rebates, which can be substantial, and can immediately save as much as 83 percent on the lighting portion of their utility bill. Up to 100% of the total install cost can be financed.
"With no up front investment, and immediate electricity savings, we believe this program removes the final barrier for Canadian businesses," explained Stephen Naor, CEO of Leapfrog Lighting. "Even though the business case always made sense, the cost of LED lamps is considerably higher than the bulbs they typically replace. Since the lamps last up to 40,000 operating hours, a retrofit makes sense, but many businesses have been holding back because of the large upfront investment."
According to the same Commercial Lighting Survey from KRC Research, 81% of business respondents are looking to install energy-efficient lighting solutions. The majority cited initial costs as the main barrier to entry.
A typical business case analysis on Leapfrog Lighting's website—an install of 100 LED lamps replacing equivalent halogen bulbs in a retail store—the overall savings per year on energy costs alone would be $2,906, based on 11 cents per kWh. With the entire cost financed, eliminating the $1,800 (approximate) upfront install cost, and factoring in expected electricity company rebates, the net savings per year still works out to $2,414 annually on this example.
"Most Canadian businesses can benefit from this type of program," said Mr. Naor. "It just makes good business sense." The program is currently only available to Canadian business owners, on credit approval. "A program for our business customers in the U.S. is coming soon."
The business advantages of LED lighting go beyond simple economics and environmental benefits. The majority of offices, schools and some retailers still use older fluorescent tubes, which are known to be health and safety issues in the workplace. Fluorescent bulbs use a mixture of hazardous gases to produce light. They create mild ultraviolet radiation, and are notorious for flicker caused by the 60 hertz per second cycles from fluorescent ballasts. Many office workers find fluorescent lighting to be depressing, dampening their enthusiasm and energy levels. Fluorescents, including compact fluorescents (CFLs) have been linked to "chronic fatigue syndrome." **
LED lamps contain no hazardous gases. Leapfrog Lighting's architectural specification quality bulbs provide consistent, non-flicker, light. The current Leapfrog Lighting line includes PAR20, PAR30, PAR38 and MR16 lamps that provide industry-leading output power through high-efficiency LED source and driver electronics. The innovative lens design creates a pleasing, glare-free light suitable for use in all indoor and unexposed outdoor down-lighting applications. The lamps also deliver the high CRI and ultra-consistent color temperature control critical to multi-lamp applications in hotels, restaurants, schools, office buildings, museums, galleries, retail operations and other public spaces. With a life expectancy of 40,000 operating hours, these UL and Energy Star registered lamps will provide more than 27 years of service at 4 hours per day.
About Leapfrog Lighting
Leapfrog Lighting, is best known for specialized commercial-application LED light bulbs, for applications where consistent quality is important, such as: retail and display, interior and architectural design applications, industry and commercial space, facility management, hospitals, galleries and museums.
- KRC Research, 2010, "Commercial Lighting Survey", random sample of 352 purchasing and facilities decision-makers over Lighting decisions in retail, hospitality, education and office. Conducted August 12 and Sept 2, 2010.
** http://www.livestrong.com/article/291567-health-risks-of-high-power-led-lights/
Derek Armstrong, Persona Corp PR, http://personaco.com, +1 647-477-8179 Ext: 288, [email protected]
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