US Foodservice deploys Orion LED technology
US Foodservice will deploy Orion Energy Systems’ LED technology and intelligent occupancy sensors in freezers at five of its facilities in Little Rock AR, Oklahoma City OK, Boca Raton FL, Norwich CT, and Zebulon NC. The foodservice company is completing a major lighting retrofit project that includes installation of Orion’s new LED lighting platform.
Designed for freezer applications and launched in June 2010, Orion’s I-Frame configuration, reflector design, and adjustable optical lens have been proven in field tests, including a test at US Foodservice’s Norwich facility.
In a freezer application, Orion’s LED technology turns from completely off to full brightness instantly compared with traditional High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting that can take up to 20 minutes. Because of the LED lamp’s ability to operate at extremely low temperatures, the fixture doesn’t require an enclosure. The life of Orion’s LED fixture in a freezer application will exceed 100,000 hours.
US Foodservice will replace 400-watt HID fixtures with 150-watt Orion LED fixtures. The actual number of new fixtures installed will be 15% fewer than those currently installed. The reduction in watts consumed, coupled with the InteLite control system, is expected to decrease the amount of electricity the foodservice distributor uses in its freezers by 1.5 million kilowatt-hours a year, while at the same time increasing light levels by 30%.
Deployment of Orion technology at US Foodservice began in 2009. To date, the company is reducing its energy consumption for lighting by 30 million kilowatt-hours and saving $3.3 million per year. As a result, it will reduce 19,076 tons of greenhouse gases annually including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, which are all byproducts of electricity generation. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this electricity reduction is the air-scrubbing equivalent of a 5,390-acre forest or similar to saving 4.5 million gallons of gasoline a year.
Orion has deployed its energy management systems in 6,128 facilities across North America. Since 2001, Orion technology has displaced more than 574 megawatts, saving clients more than $1 billion and reducing indirect carbon dioxide emissions by more than 8 million tons.