Davis & Warshow Is The First Facility In America To Achieve Net-Zero Lighting Costs With LED Tubes

MASPETH, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Davis & Warshow, (www.dwny.com) an 87-year-old family-owned business and New York's premier dealer of luxury kitchen and bath fixtures and plumbing materials, has converted its entire 209,000-square-foot Queens distribution center from fluorescent tubes to LED tube lighting. In making the switch, the company can stake claim on having the largest single-facility LED tube installation with the most energy efficient lighting in watts per-square-foot in the U.S. to date. Additionally, it is the country's first facility to achieve net-zero lighting costs with LED tubes thanks to a rooftop solar array installed in 2010 that exceeds the 200,000 annual kWh to power the lighting.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120921/NY78929 )

Independence LED, (www.IndependenceLED.com) a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer, was the source for the more than two miles worth of LED tubes required for the Davis & Warshow retrofit. Prior to the conversion, lighting equaled nearly 65% of the structure's total power usage, costing almost $50,000 per year. It now has decreased to less than 50% of the building's total energy use and costs less than $20,000 per year to run – reducing the company's lighting tab by 60% or nearly $40,000 a year.

According to Davis & Warshow president David Finkel, the company's investment to convert to LED tube lights was more than $250,000. On September 12^th, 2012 at a brief ceremony at the Maspeth headquarters, Con Edison executives presented Finkel with a check totaling $63,704. "The amount represented rebates we earned for the lighting conversion based on annual kWh saved using the made-in-America fixtures," he said.  "Moreover, in five years time our investment will have paid for itself, with the rebates we've earned and the overall energy savings."

Both the installation of the solar array and the LED conversion are part of Davis & Warshow's Practically Green program – a pragmatic, small-steps approach to going green that the company inaugurated in 2008. 

"Our small steps are adding up to a giant leap in sustainability, and we are proof positive that even small companies like ours can make a difference in reducing their environmental footprint for the better of the planet," said Finkel. Earlier this year, he was honored by the Urban Green Council, New York's chapter of the USGBC, cited as a role model in "building a greener New York."

"We are pleased to support Davis & Warshow's efforts to make their business more sustainable," said David Pospisil, program manager of the Con Edison's Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs who presented the five-figure rebate. "Con Edison's incentives and rebates help businesses like Davis & Warshow make smart investments to improve the energy and environmental performance of their buildings."

Charlie Szoradi, CEO of Independence LED who also participated in the Con Edison check presentation, added, "We are pleased to work with Davis & Warshow and applaud their vision to execute a comprehensive energy strategy. They have raised the sustainability bar."

SOURCE Davis & Warshow