GREELEY—
Near the corner of Highway 85 and 8th Street in Greeley sits the Big R Farm Supply store. Inside, store owner Rocky Francis flips on the lights to start another day, mindful about the high electric bills he used to pay."It was costing me 800 to 1,000 dollars a month for this structure right here. This place had 400 watt halide high bay lights in it and the bill was eating my lunch."
So Rocky found Tim Gravert, Vice President of Caberra systems. They have a new high tech LED floodlighting system that uses 2 thirds less electricity than conventional warehouse lighting. These new lights are called G2LEDs, and they're made here in the U.S.
"This is all solid state electronics. That's what an LED is", Gravert says. Although light emitting diodes, (LEDs) are old technology, the power systems in these new lights is new. The trick is to get all the electricity to light the LED and not waste it on heat or other power losses.
"There's a driver in the back of the lights that uses digital technology to ensure that all the energy lights the diodes. That's how we can save so much energy. What's more, we can tweak the driver to add or take out whatever power is needed to satisfy the lighting needs of the consumer," Gravert told us.
For Rocky Francis, the proof is in his monthly light bill. "You look at it, it says 242 dollars and 31 cents per month. That comes out to 36 cents a day".
The G2LEDs are a bit pricey when you buy them, but Gravert says that most businesses recover the investment in utility savings in about one to three years.
"Our lights are fully under warrantee for five years, and they'll last about 30 years in all", Tim says.
By then, many other technologies like fuel cells and solar power will be more practical, and using them for electricity will be a snap with these new LED lights.
"If you think about it, by then, you just might see more and more businesses totally off the grid altogether, and that means 100 percent savings on your light bill down the road".
If enough consumers see the light, Gravert says he'd like to see a manufacturing plant in northeast Colorado. "Business plans can change, of course. But we're looking at the possibility of putting a plant right near the town of Wiggins. We could bring as many as 100 jobs to the area."
Rocky Francis plans to sell the G2 LEDS at Big R right away. There are also home improvement models becoming available soon. To find out more about G2LEDs, go to their website at www.G2LED.com.
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