NYSERDA Press Releases

NYSERDA Awards Nearly $50,000 in Small Commercial Lighting Competition Prizes

Albany, NY - The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced winners in the New York Energy $mart^SM Small Commercial Lighting Program competitions. The awards recognize the most innovative, effective and energy-efficient lighting designs completed through the program in the past year and the companies involved. The new lighting systems are providing better lit spaces for employees and customers, while saving New York small businesses thousands of dollars in energy and maintenance costs.

"These awards are examples of NYSERDA's commitment to energy efficiency and conomic development in New York State," said NYSERDA President William M. Flynn. "Encouraging new lighting technologies and sound design principles will save energy and improve the bottom line for many small companies."

NYSERDA awarded four prizes for the Design Competition:

• The $5,000 first place prize in the Office category went to Lumen Power Sources, Inc. of Albany for its design of Pega Insurance's office space,
  
  
• The $2,000 second place prize in the Office category went to Anazalone Electric Contractors, Inc. of Lockport for its design of Barden Homes' office and display space,
  
  
• The $1,000 third place prize in the Office category went to Patricia Electric of Syracuse for its design of Centro Bus office space; and
  
  
• The $5,000 first place award in the Retail category went to Retrofit Design Lighting, Inc. of Latham for its design of a Key Bank branch in Albany.

"We are proud to be promoting effective, energy-efficient lighting in partnership with NYSERDA," said Ron Galati, president of Retrofit Design Lighting in Albany. "Using this technology creates bottom-line savings for small businesses and means more jobs for New York State."

End-users of the technology are pleased with the results as well. "Our energy-efficient lighting system cost less than a standard system - and we will continue to see savings through lower utility bills," said Dan Pezze, owner of Pega Insurance. "Our customers notice the difference in the lighting and have told us how much they like the look."

Entries were judged on: creativity and innovation; compliance with program criteria for lighting quality and energy metrics; fulfillment of occupant needs; practicality, and ease of installation and maintenance; and benefits provided for the project cost.

NYSERDA also awarded four prizes in the Installation Competition category:

• The $10,000 prize for most qualifying projects completed in the Small Commercial Lighting Program by a small contractor went to Wade Electric Company of Troy.
  
  
• The $5,000 prize for second most qualifying projects completed in the Small Commercial Lighting Program by a small contractor went to Murtha Electric Company of Queensbury.
  
  
• The $10,000 prize for most qualifying projects supplied in the Small Commercial Lighting Program by a small supplier/distributor went to Wolberg Electric Supply Company of Albany.
  
  
• The $10,000 prize for most qualifying projects supplied in the Small Commercial Lighting Program by a large supplier/distributor went to City Electric Supply of Syracuse.

"Small businesses are increasingly seeing how much they can save by upgrading their lighting with effective, energy-efficient technologies," said Bob Wade, owner of Wade Electric in Troy. "We look forward to continuing our work with NYSERDA to implement more and more projects."

The Small Commercial Lighting Program promotes efficient lighting products and designs for commercial spaces between 1,000 and 25,000 square feet. Funding for the awards comes from the New York Energy $mart^SM program which is designed to lower electricity costs by encouraging energy efficiency. Programs are available to electric distribution customers of Central Hudson Gas and Electric, Consolidated Edison, New York State Electric and Gas, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Orange and Rockland Utilities, and Rochester Gas and Electric, and to the businesses that sell energy- efficient equipment and services to those customers. All New York Energy $mart^SM programs are funded by a System Benefits Charge (SBC) paid by the customers of these utility companies.

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