By Paul Moreno
OROVILLE – The North State Food Bank’s lights now are brighter and its energy bills are falling, just as it gears up for the busy holiday season.
Last week, the food bank made lighting and refrigeration upgrades using PG&E rebates. Installers from Richard Heath and Associates (RHA) replaced 150 older, less-efficient florescent fixtures with energy saving LED bulbs, improving lighting for food bank workers, which also makes for a safer work place.
Installers from Richard Heath and Associates replace fluorescent tubes with energy-efficient LED lights at the North State Food Bank. (Photos by Paul Moreno.)
“We are always in need of finding ways to lower our operating costs and put those savings toward more services,” said Tom Tenorio, chief executive officer of the Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc., which runs the food bank and an energy efficiency program for low-income residents. “The CAA wants to help low-income residents have a better holiday season. PG&E and RHA have helped that become more of a reality.”
The food bank provides food to organizations in a six-county region which in turn distribute food or use it in kitchens that provide hot meals. As the holiday season approaches, more food moves through its warehouse.
Besides new overhead lighting in the 10,000-square feet of warehouse and offices, 10 motors were upgraded for walk-in refrigeration as well as 19 other lights. These improvements will reduce the food bank’s energy usage by about 52,000 kilowatt hours per year – or the amount of energy used by seven average homes annually.
Overall, the improvements will reduce the food bank’s costs by an estimated $9,900 a year. The PG&E incentives covered about $7,000 of the $12,000 total improvement costs. The food bank will recoup the $5,000 difference in about six months, and then continue saving money each month.
Tom Tenorio and Lisa Roehling, of the North State Food Bank, discuss the upcoming busy holiday season.
The LED lighting also lasts several times longer than the older fluorescent tubes and will require less maintenance.
“This is truly a win-win-win,” said Lia White, senior manager of PG&E’s North Valley Division. “The reduced energy usage not only provides savings for the food bank, but it also helps out the power grid by reducing peak load demand and helps the environment. The community will also get the benefit as the food bank will be able to do more.”
The North Valley Energy Watch partners PG&E with RHA to help small and medium-sized businesses, schools and agencies take advantage of energy efficiency upgrades. The rebates from PG&E offset the costs of making upgrades, which save the customers money each month going forward.
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