Pat Clouden, CEO of Consumer Energy Solutions, says employment opportunities will boom as LED lighting becomes the norm.
We know the economic benefits are real, and so are the opportunities for tomorrow’s new electricians.
Clearwater, FL (PRWEB) April 28, 2015
Based on its commercial clients’ experience of energy cost savings from converting to light-emitting-diode-based (LED) lighting, Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc. (CES), one of the nation’s foremost full-service energy consulting companies, estimates that the conversion of high-rise buildings in the 32 most heavily developed cities in the U.S. to LED lighting would yield a total energy cost saving of $3.65 billion over five years.1
In addition to cost savings, converting these buildings’ lighting systems and installing LED lighting would provide a substantial number of new jobs for electricians, already a booming field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of electricians is expected to grow by 20% from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations, resulting in a net increase of 114,700 jobs. Median earnings for a trained electrician in 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, were $49,840 per year, 43% above the median for all workers of $34,750.2
The combination of a lowering of overall energy consumption and entry into the market of a large cohort of skilled, highly compensated workers, says CES, will provide real and lasting benefits to the economy, benefits that are already apparent and will quickly become more so. While initial adoption of LED lighting has been slow, it is expected to proceed much more rapidly over the next few years. Robert Weissbourd, president of RW-Ventures and the author of a study on green economic opportunities in Chicago, predicts that in the next decade, LED lights will capture more than half of the world’s demand for new lighting. Weissbourd compares the situation of LED lighting with that of digital photography, noting that as recently as the late 1990s, there were many who felt that technology was still decades away from replacing conventional photo film. LED’s time, he says, has come.3
Other observers agree. According to General Electric, LED, which now accounts for only 18% of the global lighting market, will see its market share increase to 70% by 2020. Over that same period, GE expects the value of the market to grow from $66 billion per year to $100 billion. To demonstrate the capabilities of LED on a large scale, GE has recently undertaken some major LED conversion projects. At Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, MD, the company has illuminated two million square feet of garages and parking lots with LED systems to provide 70% energy savings and a two-year return on investment. In Las Vegas, NV, an LED street lighting solution for the city’s streets is expected to generate annual energy savings of $1.7 million and a reduction in annual maintenance costs of $1 million.4
“We’ve seen comparable results with LED conversions made by our clients,” says CES CEO Pat Clouden. “We know the economic benefits are real, and so are the opportunities for tomorrow’s new electricians.”
That opportunity, as Clouden sees it, will not be short-lived. CES expects the need for large numbers of skilled electricians to continue well past the major conversion of the country’s large buildings, due to the emerging importance of LED circuitry in what is being called the Internet of Things. According to a recent study from Navigant Research, annual sales for occupancy sensors, photosensors, and lighting network gear related to LED lighting applications will grow from $1.1 billion in 2013 to $2.7 billion by 2020. Falling LED prices, says the report, will drive up the adoption of lighting controls. The semiconductor nature of LEDs makes them inherently controllable, with better dimmability, easy integration of controls with drivers, and instantaneous setup. Each new LED fixture can, in essence, become a node on an intelligent controls network.5
CES has transitioned from selling primarily to residential customers to selling primarily to businesses, and has become one of the nation’s leading full-service energy consulting companies. Along the way, it has been a pioneer not only in helping its customers negotiate the best and most appropriate per-unit energy purchase arrangements, but also in helping them to reduce consumption through commercial energy saving programs and commercial LED lighting.
About Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc.:
Headquartered in Clearwater, FL, Consumer Energy Solutions, Inc. (CES) is one of the nation’s foremost full-service energy consulting companies, with over two million residential and 300,000 commercial customers across the United States and Canada, including many Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 1999 by Patrick J. Clouden, CES transitioned in 2004 from selling primarily to residential customers to selling primarily to businesses. The company’s long-standing relationships with the largest independent energy suppliers in the U.S., coupled with its unparalleled knowledge of the industry, give CES customers access to the most competitive electricity and natural gas rates available in their area. CES is dedicated to educating its customers about the choices available to them as energy consumers, and to helping them, in a volatile energy market, to balance short-term savings against long-term risk. The company’s mission is to assist its commercial clients in better managing their energy costs so as to add to their bottom line. CES is an industry leader in providing its clients with effective strategies and solutions to reduce energy costs. References are available upon request. For more information, visit http://www.consumerenergysolutions.com.
1. “LED Conversion: Consumer Energy Solutions Says Skyscrapers in 33 U.S. Major Cities Would Save 3.65 Billion in Energy Costs,” Wall and Ceiling Canada, April 10, 2015.
wallandceiling.ca/industry-news/800/led-conversion-consumer-energy-solutions-says-skyscrapers-33-us-major-cities-would
2. “Job Outlook for Electricians,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm
3. McMahon, Jeff, “LED Poised to Light Up The World: Study,” Forbes, January 27, 2012.
forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/01/27/led-poised-to-light-up-the-world-study/
4. Trefis Team, “GE Lighting Sees Brighter Future with LED Growth,” Forbes, June 11, 2013.
forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/06/11/ge-lighting-sees-brighter-future-with-led-growth/
5. Clancy, Heather, “Why LED Retrofits Are The ‘Trojan Horse’ of the Internet of Things,” Forbes, December 26, 2013.
forbes.com/sites/heatherclancy/2013/12/26/why-led-retrofits-are-the-trojan-horse-of-the-internet-of-things/