The Ashforth Company Reduces Energy Consumption With Seesmart LED Lighting

National real estate firm "The Ashforth Company" will save thousands annually in energy costs by replacing their existing T8 fluorescent tube lights with energy efficient Seesmart LED lighting solutions. End Quote

New York, NY (1888PressRelease) August 22, 2012 - Nationwide real estate company "The Ashforth Company" has announced the completion of their recent LED lighting retrofit at 707 and 3001 Stamford Square in Stamford CT. The replacement of their existing T8 fluorescent tube lights with high-efficiency LED tubes will save the environmentally conscious firm thousands of dollars annually as well as reduce their carbon footprint by 253,000 pounds a year.

The LED lighting project included one of their trophy buildings, further enhancing their spectacular lobby by providing a superior quality of light while achieving a reduction in energy consumption of 56 percent and a rapid return on investment (ROI) of only 15 months.

The recent lighting retrofit at 3001 Stamford Square was part of a $12 million renovation project which included constructing an aesthetically pleasing grand entrance and main lobby in which Seesmart LED lighting products were installed significantly contributing to the projects overall success.

The Ashforth Company is a national real estate firm that owns, develops, and invests in assets on the East and West Coast as well as providing third party services including property management, general contracting and construction management.

"We have seen great progress within the real estate industry with respect to sustainability efforts, and we are proud to be continually assessing and improving our environmental performance. This technology has become so affordable that most "best in class" office buildings will make the transition to LED lighting as it provides superior light, reduces energy and in turn saves tenants and owners money. We are committed to being a leader in sustainabilty initatives and hope others will follow. We are particularly excited that this LED retrofit helped our 707 Summer Street achieve an Energy Star rating and increase our rating at 3001 Stamford Square as well," said Brian Heelan, senior vice president of the Albert B. Ashforth, Inc., The Ashforth Company's property management division.

"The completion of the Ashforth LED lighting retrofit is another testament to the quality of Seesmart LED linear lighting products. Ashforth is an innovative real estate development company, and we are very proud to add such a well respected national firm to our customer portfolio," said Kenneth Ames CEO of Seesmart Technologies Inc. "We are very pleased to have worked with David Marks and other members of the Ashforth management team to complete this project. Their attention to detail and knowledge of LED technology makes their selection of Seesmart products particularly satisfying."

David Marks, vice president of Albert B. Ashforth, Inc. and property manager for 707 Summer Street and 3001 Stamford Square added, LED initiatives are one of the simplest ways to cut costs and decrease a property's carbon footprint.

Tri-State LED lighting, The Northeast distributor of Seesmart LED, helped us build numerous mockup light fixtures to determine the best set-up for our buildings in terms of optimal lighting results and energy and cost savings. After examining numerous LED products I determined that Seesmart was the one I wanted installed in my buildings, as their bulbs provided higher footcandle readings at lower wattages compared to the competitors. Other products didn't compare, making Seesmart products the best solution for Asforth.

Marks came across Seesmart LED about five years ago at a Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) annual convention in California. While investigating potential energy savings for Ashforth, he remembered Seesmart and thought they must be doing something right to still be in business, as many in the industry have not survived.

Ashforth targeted building locations typically illuminated 24 hours a day, such as garages, stairwells, vestibules and lobbies where a substantial reduction in energy consumption could be acheived. Additionally, lighting maintenance will also be reduced as the need to replace ballasts are eliminated with LED as well as the labor cost associated with the servicing. Furthermore bulb replacement is extended due to an estimated useful life, 10 times the average of traditional lighting products.

The Ashforth Company is among many large commercial real estate companies in Fairfield and Westchester Counties who have recently taken advantage of the substantial energy reduction and financial savings that can be achieved by replacing their energy-inefficient lighting.

Last month SL Green Realty Corp. announced their massive LED lighting retrofit in White Plains and Manhattan NY. SL Green was able to save $745,000 annually while reducing energy consumption by more than 50 percent. The LED lighting retrofit consisted of replacing 16,000 antiquated fluorescent and incandescent lamps in 21 of it's commercial properties including 360 Hamilton Avenue, 140 Grand Street in White Plains, 200 & 500 Summit Lake Drive in Valhalla, 680/750 Washington Blvd., Landmark Square in Stamford, Ct., 100 Church Street, 125 Park Avenue, 140 Grand Street, 420 Lexington Avenue and 919 Third Avenue in NYC.

Also, professional services company Ernst & Young has replaced the lights at its 32-floor, 650,000-square-foot headquarters in New York's Times Square with LED technology, saving $1 million a year in the process.

The retrofit is one of the largest LED lighting retrofits yet in New York City. It will cut Ernst & Young's lighting-related energy and maintenance costs in half. An estimated 25 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings comes from the lights, but Ernst & Young's retrofit, which included occupancy sensors that control when lights are burning and when they're not, cut the power consumption almost in in half to 2.9 million kilowatt-hours (kWHs) in electricity from 6.2 million kWhs previously used.

On August 3rd, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg released the first benchmarking report (Read Report) analyzing a year of energy and water use for New York City's largest buildings. This information is the first step in increasing knowledge about buildings' energy use and shows property owners where they may have opportunities to save energy and money by making their buildings more efficient.

The report is required under Local Law 84 of 2009, which mandates that all privately-owned properties with individual buildings over 50,000 square feet or multiple buildings with a combined square footage over 100,000 square feet annually measure and report their energy and water use. While New York City's buildings are generally less energy intensive than the national average; there is a significant opportunity to improve the energy performance of large buildings, which is essential to achieving the City's greenhouse gas reduction goal established in Mayor Bloomberg's comprehensive sustainability plan, PlaNYC.

The benchmarking report shows that energy use varies greatly between property types, uses, and locations, with some properties using three to five times more energy per square foot than buildings with similar uses. Though many factors are at play, newer office buildings in New York City tend to use more energy per square foot than older ones.

"Buildings account for 75 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in New York City, yet many property owners and managers do not know they can be a part of the solution and save money by making their buildings more energy efficient," said Mayor Bloomberg. "This benchmarking report will help us understand where we can act most quickly to significantly reduce GHG emissions and achieve our PlaNYC goals."

"This benchmarking law is a significant piece of our environment portfolio and is the largest effort in the country to measure energy and water usage," said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "Buildings are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and this information will lead to significant energy savings throughout our city. I want to thank the administration for their work on this issue and for helping make New York City even greener."

"Improving the energy performance of our nation's buildings is good for our environment, our health and our future," said Jean Lupinacci, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR program. "ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager(TM) has become the tool of choice for owners and operators looking to assess the performance of their buildings, and by leveraging its power New York City can now plot out an energy strategy for the road ahead."

I believe that the recent energy efficiency projects completed by these innovative industry leaders, utilizing LED lighting technology will significantly improve their progress towards Mayor Bloomberg's comprehensive sustainability plan as well as their own energy efficiency goals incuding Energy Star and similar state programs. It is important for industry leaders like SL Green, Ashforth and Ernst & Young to set the standard for the improved business practices that can be achieved through energy reduction and sustainability.

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