Office landlord lightens power bills

SL Green Realty Corp. this month expects to complete the second phase of its lighting retrofit program, installing more than 8,000 LED lamps at 10 commercial office buildings to save an estimated $300,000 annually on electric bills.

In Westchester County, the retrofit program includes the SL Green Reckson Division properties at 100 Summit Lake Drive and 115 Stevens Ave. in Valhalla. Landmark Square in Stamford, Conn., also will be fitted with the energy-saving lights, along with seven SL Green properties in Manhattan.

SL Green last year completed one of the nation”™s largest LED lighting retrofits at 22 commercial office properties that total more than 7 million square feet of space. More than 16,000 LED units replaced incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lights at an annual savings of $625,000. Only 54 LED lights of the 16,000 have had to be replaced, a fixture failure rate of .3 percent, SL Green officials said.

LED lighting reduces energy use by more than 55 percent while significantly improving lamp life, often greater than eight years, or three to four times longer than other lighting technologies.

“The use of this innovative technology to address 24/7 lighting areas, including garage, stair, and mechanical areas, will yield significant cost savings and quick paybacks in less than three years,”  Steven Durels, SL Green executive vice president, said in a press release.

Jay Black, director of sustainability for SL Green, said the combined retrofits in 2012 and 2013 will save the company more than $7.4 million in total light life cycle costs.