Following along with the popular theme of going green, a new Emporia business aims to help companies become more efficient with new, more environmentally friendly lighting.
Jim Gartner, president of Energy Innovators, Inc., said it’s been his dream to start his own business, and moving to Emporia with his wife, Nikki, about a year ago gave him his chance.
“We moved here last October, and for about the last eight months I’ve been studying and getting my plan together,” Gartner said. He and his wife came here from Dubuque, Iowa, when she got a job at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
In starting the business, Gartner said he wanted something service-oriented and technically related to his background in electrical engineering.
“I realized that lighting is a great energy-savings opportunity,” he said. “It’s probably the best thing people can get for going green. It’s a great return on investment for businesses.”
Energy Innovators offers a number of services, from retrofitting, installing and servicing new lighting to maintaining emergency and exit lights. It also can recycle and dispose of old lights and equipment.
The process starts with a lighting audit, where Gartner examines the existing lighting and looks at saving opportunities to find the appropriate retrofit or upgrade. The solution involves energy savings as well as lighting quality.
“Typically we reduce electrical usage by 50 percent from the existing lighting,” Gartner said. “Also, newer lamps and technologies have a longer life, so there are reduced maintenance costs and such.”
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phiber101 (anonymous) says...
Now that's a positive story for Emporia! It's a new business in town as well as a step in the right direction for energy saving! I truely hope this business does well.
October 14, 2009 at 3:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )