PICA – 13 month payback on LED Retro-fit

LED North America has completed its first large scale parking garage lighting project for 2013 for the Podiatry Insurance Company of America (PICA). The 27,600 sq ft underground parking garage is located at 3000 Meridian Boulevard I Franklin, TN. JC Blakely, CFM, Facilities Director for PICA, said, “We are very pleased with the enhanced light quality in our Parking Garage. We believe we are the first Parking Garage in Williamson County to be completely illuminated using LED lighting, We are looking forward to years and years of trouble free service from our new LED lights.

PICA’s parking garage is now illuminated by 30 LED North America “Manhattan” Parking Garage lights. These fixtures incorporate a graphite foam technology licensed exclusively by LED North America from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Because of the superior thermal management provided by this technology, the LEDs operate cooler – extending their life and achieving greater light output with lower energy usage. Using only 81 watts the Manhattan delivers almost 6,900 lumens – an efficacy of 86 lumens/watt.

PICA also decided to use LED lighting to upgrade the 142 Fluorescent fixtures around the perimeter of the garage and in the building’s entry way. Due to the increased luminosity and the longer life of LED replacement tubes, it is possible to use one LED tube light to replace two fluorescents. Each LED tube consumes only 19 watts. As there is no external power supply required for this type of fixture, this further reduces energy consumption in comparison to traditional fluorescent  lighting and eliminates costly and troublesome maintenance and ballast issues. All of the LEDs used in this project carry a 5 year warranty.

By electing to replace all of the conventional HID and Fluorescent fixtures with LED North America Manhattan Parking Garage lights and LED tube lights in its underground parking garage, PICA reduces its energy cost by $13,500 per year.

This is an amazing 76% savings. And there are more financial rewards than just energy savings. With TVA’s EnergyRight Solutions for Business Incentive program, TVA is paying PICA an almost $15,000 incentive to offset the cost of the lights and installation. The payback on the project is only 13 months. PICA also reduces their environmental impact. This

project lowers CO2 production by 120 tons per year, avoids burning 51 tons of coal annually and is the equivalent of planting 30 acres of forest each year.

Andrew Wilhelm, LED North America, said, “We are very appreciative of the forward thinking of JC Blakely and PICA. These lights will serve PICA well for many years. We would also like to thank Frankewig Construction and especially Charles Oman. They did a super job installing the lights.”

Andy Geshwiller, LED North America’s Marketing and Sales Vice President remarked, “LED lighting makes great economic and environmental sense. The support from TVA and the federal government is there to help offset costs. Our LED fixtures will improve the light quality for your employees and enhance safety and productivity while at the same time reducing energy bills and maintenance expenses.”

About LED North America

LED North America, founded in 2008, is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in the Tech 2020 Building: an incubator for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The company’s mission is to deliver technologically advanced LED lighting solutions at an attractive Return on Investment price point. Concentrating on commercial lighting applications for parking lots, parking garages, and indoor high bay applications, LED North America has developed an “Advanced Thermal Management (ATM)” technology that utilizes a graphite foam developed by ORNL. LED North America has an exclusive Intellectual Property licence with ORNL for the use of this technology in all LED heat sing applications. The graphite foam, also used in other applications by NASA and the US Military, is used to passively dissipate the heat within the LED light with much greater efficiency than conventional aluminium heat sinks. Using the foam decreases the operating temperatures of the LED light components, significantly extending their life. Another benefit of the foam is that it gives LED North America the capability of producing more lumens from a smaller and lighter weight fixture than its competitors. LED North America confidentially offers a 5 year warranty on all commercial lighting products that incorporate the graphite foam technology. For additional information please call 865-418-3600 or visit www.led-na.com.

About PICA

Podiatry Insurance Company of America (PICA) is the nation’s leading provider of medical professional liability insurance for podiatric physicians in the United States. For over 30 years, they have provided medical malpractice coverage while supporting and enhancing the podiatric profession through sponsorship, risk management seminars and annual scholarships for podiatric medical students, to name a few. Founded by podiatrists, for podiatrist, PICA is committed to protecting and supporting podiatric physicians in every aspect of their practices. They will take the time to assess your needs and assist you in choosing the policy coverage that best suits you. PICA has the expertise and resources to protect you and your practice like no other company.

PICA is a member of ProAssurance, the fourth largest provider of medical professional liability insurance in the country. With corporate headquarters located in Birmingham, AL, it operates in 48 states and the District of Columbia and has nearly 700 employees in 23 offices across the country. For additional information, please call (800) 253-5727 or visit www.picagroup.com