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Real Estate Company is “SOLD” on Energy Efficiency
The Business
The Real Estate Company specializes in selling residential and commercial
property and real estate investments in northern Sonoma County. The Sonoma
company has been in business for more than 17 years and its owner, Bill
Dardon, has been in the real estate industry for more than 27 years.
The
Challenge
The official "hours of business" are from 9:00AM until 6:00PM,
but, in the erratic world of real estate, the lights are almost always
on. When Dardon wasn't busy closing million dollar deals, he was the office's
unofficial "lighting police" to his twelve employees. "My
efforts to save energy ended up using a lot of my own energy," recalled
Dardon.
The
Solution
The Small Business Energy Alliance (SBEA) came to Dardon's rescue by swapping
59 energy guzzling, incandescent 60-Watt bulbs with energy efficient,
14-Watt compact fluorescent lamps, which used 75% less energy. The SBEA
also upgraded inefficient T-12 fluorescent lamps to energy efficient T-8
lamps. The new T-8 tubes last longer (up to 30,000 hours), cast a bright,
natural light and require less maintenance. And the system's new electronic
ballasts are quiet and flicker free, unlike the old, humming magnetic
ballasts.
The
Outcome
Bill Dardon can concentrate on selling real estate, now that the energy
efficient lighting system is doing the job of conserving energy. And the
modern lighting is helping to promote productivity because it no longer
"casts shadows or strains our eyes," said Dardon.
Setting
the Mood for Sales and Savings
The SBEA also installed dimmers
on conference room lights. As a result, Dardon's setting the mood for
sales while saving money and energy.
The
Savings
The electric bills went down faster than the late eighties real estate
market, from an average of $120 a month to $60.
The
Bottom Line
Dardon used state-sponsored funds from the SBEA to pay for half of the
installation costs and the City of Sonoma picked up the tab for the remainder
of the installation. The Real Estate Company started saving the moment
they switched on the lights.
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