The Con Ed funding stars are aligned: Make your move

Con Ed has just rolled out a major funding effort with the ambitious goal of reducing electrical consumption of their customer base by 600 MW by the year 2016. This represents a unique opportunity for buildings to accelerate projects that will result in a reduction of electric consumption. With Con Ed as your funding partner ready to pay for a substantial portion of your project - make your move now. While Con Ed's funding programs cover the electrical usage waterfront, this article focuses on funding opportunities that relate to LED lighting upgrades and retro-fits. For Con Ed funding for lighting projects, think in terms of three tiers: * The first tier is the existing "prescriptive" incentives which provide specific rebates for specific steps. Examples include $15 rebates for each "screw in" LED lamp that replaces an A19, Par30, Par38 or a candelabra. The detailed schedule of these rebates is available from Con Ed. * The next level or tier of incentives is "custom" measures that target larger lighting projects - 50,000 s/f and above. Here the incentives are based on the actual reduction of electrical consumption - before and after. As a rule of thumb, think in terms of funding from Con Ed that would equate to approximately 20% of the project cost. * Then for larger projects, there is a higher tier of incentives which will result in funding of 50% or more of the cost of the project. This higher level of funding will usually require the expertise of a Con Ed marketing partner to navigate the process. A good example of how this funding package can work, including Con Ed's top tier of funding, is the YMCA lighting project on Staten Island. This project is a full energy saving LED lighting retro-fit. Joe Verhey, YMCA executive director, advises that the total cost of this project, including the cost of installation, is $92,000. With total incentives from Con Ed of $52,000, the net cost to the YMCA is $40,000. Joe's savings calculations follow: Annual cost of electrical consumption with the old fixtures - $27,000. Annual cost following the new LED retro-fit - $10,000. Annual savings - $17,000. Because the new LED installation is virtually maintenance free - add $5,000 of savings for less maintenance and lamp replacement. The payback? With total annual savings of $22,000, the payback calculated against the net cost of $40,000 is less than two years. It's time to make your move. George Crawford is a principal of Green Partners, New York, N.Y.