NDCP Facility
LED has become the winning option for most applications including the NDCP project.
Providence, Rhode Island (PRWEB) July 25, 2015
National DCP is the $2 Billion purchasing cooperative that serves more than 7,000 Dunkin' Donuts Franchise owners, providing efficient sourcing, purchasing and distribution of the goods and services that keep Dunkin' running. The organization, headquartered in Bellingham, MA is highly technology-minded and pursues efficiency throughout the supply chain. Consistent with that approach, the group recently tapped Energy Source of Providence Rhode Island to help them make the most of their facility lighting with an energy conserving redesign of their overall lighting systems.
Gabriel Andreson was the energy conservation consultant who fielded the project for Energy Source, a leading national energy conservation firm out of Providence, that specializes in providing turn-key energy conservation for businesses, Andreson reports he was duly impressed with the sophistication of the DHCP operation.
“Like many people, my first stop every morning is a local Dunkin’ Donuts franchise I pass on my way to work. I must admit that I never stopped to think about where my morning coffee came from before it hit my cup. Getting a behind the scenes look at the facility that is responsible for coordinating the purchase and delivery of 100 million pounds of coffee, 112 million pounds of sugar and 24 million gallons of milk to more than 7,000 franchises every year was truly impressive.” Andreson said.
The project at NationalDCP took just over 5 weeks to complete with zero interruption to production. The work consisted of the removal of antiquated High Intensity Fluorescents and a schematic re-design and installation of highly efficient LED lighting. The lighting re-design and installed technology resulted in optimized light levels to match the tasks and operations in various parts of the building and of course, a dramatic reduction in energy consumption amounting to $50,000 dollars per year in energy cost savings.
Andreson elaborated on the benefits of the technology that his firm, working in conjunction with Digital Lumens, brought in to the facility. “LED has become the winning option for most applications including the NDCP project. When compared to the systems they commonly replace, LED’s performance is far superior in every way. LED delivers maximum ROI. The energy savings are enormous, the aesthetics are better, the lamp life is exponentially greater. they provide better color performance, lamp flicker is eliminated, the operation is silent, they suffer very low lumen degradation over time and the warm-up associated with fluorescents in conditioned environments is not present in LED.”
Another valuable benefit of LED is the ability to incorporate intelligent controls, a technology implemented on the NDCP project. Web based software monitors occupancy levels and turns off lights in unused areas. This was particularly effective on this project as the facility operates on a 24 hour production schedule. Smart controls can also enable what is known as “Daylight Harvesting” wherein light output is automatically regulated based on the availability of ambient light in a building. LED fixtures can be programmed to gain in brightness when natural light is low, and throttle back during brighter times of day. This capacity for fine tuning results in significant additional energy savings opportunities.
An important partner in this project was NationalGrid, specifically by contributing through their Utility Incentive Program. Energy Source has earned the distinction of being a NationalGrid Project Expeditor, which means they can access all available incentives on behalf of their clients in order to make the financing of the project appealing. In the case of National DCP, Energy Source secured incentives of nearly $100,000 for their client, giving this project a very rapid payback of only 1.8 years.