Category: Business Customers

Charter Schools, Health Services and More Are Ready For Savings

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Random cold-calling can be time-consuming. That is why the Wattsmart team has targeted specific businesses that may be unaware of the Wattsmart savings opportunities but could benefit from an upgrade.

Summer is the perfect time to talk to local charter schools about energy efficiency opportunities. To support our vendors in this endeavor, postcards went out to Idaho and Wyoming charter schools in June. The message was that now is a good time to reduce operating costs.

An additional group we mailed to recently is health services—doctors, dentists, physical therapists, laboratories, etc. Upgraded lighting can vastly improve patients’ experiences. Others we plan to contact include auto repair shops and eating/drinking establishments.

Wattsmart has proactively reached out to these customer segments in an effort to generate leads for you, our vendors. After we identify an opportunity, the first question we ask a customer is if they have a preferred vendor. If they do not, we refer them to our Premium Vendor Network. It pays to be Premium!

If you have existing customers that fall into these categories, now is a great time to reach out to them again to see what energy efficiency opportunities may exist. Below are links to the cards that were already sent. You can print them out and present them when you visit any of these businesses. Contact the Wattsmart Business team if you need support with this or any other program.

black shirts with logos

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Link to the Charter School card

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Link to Health Services card

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Featured Vendor – Codale Electric Supply

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Congratulations to our Wattsmart Lighting Madness promotion winner, Codale Electric Supply, Inc. of Salt Lake City. Codale was founded in 1975 and has been a Wattsmart vendor for more than 15 years.

They were the top finisher with 868,488 kWh in savings. For their efforts, they earned a $10,000 incentive and a personalized Rocky Mountain Power case study which will be included in an upcoming Wattsmart Wednesday segment on Fox13.

Let us know if you think we should offer more promotions like this one by taking our brief, one-question survey in the email you received. 

Codale with trophy
Wattsmart lighting madness
Wattsmart lighting madness
Wattsmart lighting madness
Wattsmart lighting madness

Video: Start Your Savings With Engine Block Heater Controllers

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Three Reasons Your Customers Will Appreciate You for Recommending a Smart Engine Block Heater Controller

In cold weather, your customers with diesel motors know that starting them up in the morning is a struggle. An engine block heater can help. But old-school timers on block heaters can overuse electricity because they aren’t smart enough to run only when needed.

 

Controller video

1 – Save energy

Newer, more efficient smart engine block controllers are superior to older block heater timers because they use variables such as ambient temperature to know when to operate. This helps  reduce block engine warmer run times. When setting preheat times using a block timer alone, one must plan for the worst-case scenario. But smart controllers dynamically adjust schedules for optimal efficiency.  

2 – Save time

Smart engine block controllers are easy to install and program. After that is done, less daily labor is needed.

3 – Save money

Energy savings come from not running equipment longer than necessary or when it’s not needed. More savings come from a $125  incentive* available for products found on the qualified product list.

Energy savings come from not running equipment longer than necessary or when it’s not needed. More savings come from a $125  incentive* available for products found on the qualified product list.

Watch this brief video that demonstrates a real-world situation. See how simple the installation is and which equipment can benefit from engine block heaters.

Get started today. Contact your outreach specialist to connect your customers with an expert or to get questions answered.

* Idaho Incentives    Utah Incentives, p7    Wyoming Incentives, p12

 

Wattsmart Lighting Madness Winners 2024!

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Codale Electric Supply was our first-place finisher in the Wattsmart Madness promotion!

They earned:  

  • A $10,000 performance incentive for their effort.  
  • A personalized case study ad.
  • A feature on an upcoming segment of Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Wednesday on Fox 13!

Congratulations!

Additionally, congratulations to our semi-finalists. The runner-up was Lighting Maintenance & Service, Inc. (LMS).

For finishing second, they earned

  • A $5,000 performance incentive.
  • A personalized case study ad.
  • A feature in an upcoming Rocky Mountain Power social media post.

In third place was DiVi Energy, LLC, and in fourth place, Conserve-A-Watt Lighting. Both will receive

  • A $2,500 performance incentive.
  • A personalized case study ad.

 

Thank you to all our vendors who participated and helped their customers save energy through incentives.

Chase Harris, Project Manager

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As a project manager in Idaho, Chase provides expertise on various programs and systems, including advanced network lighting controls (ANLC), advanced exterior dimming (AED), and lighting projects in general. Chase is the go-to person for energy efficiency questions in Idaho and Cache County, Utah. He also helps with pre- and post-project inspections in this territory.

Chase joined the Wattsmart Business team in 2022. Prior to that, he spent 12+ years as a trade ally in Utah and Idaho. He also worked in the following capacities: product development manager for Malouf Companies, VP of sales and director of product development for Harris Lighting Products, and VP of marketing outreach for RTC Marketing.

One of Chase’s favorite family vacation spots is Island Park in Idaho.

He can be reached at chase.harris@evergreen.energy.

DesignLight Consortium

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Lauren Morlino, second from left, was a member of a successful team who used their lighting knowledge to “escape” during an NLC exercise. (Photo used with permission from the DesignLights Consortium.)

 

The Summit Summary

The commercial lighting industry continues to evolve rapidly to changing occupancy, regulatory policies and customer needs. Utilities, manufacturers and the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) met for the DLC Controls Summit in September. There, they discussed the importance of networked lighting controls while also acknowledging the low adoption nationwide. Some utility members even highlighted the opportunity for networked lighting controls to fill future savings pipelines, despite being faced with the sunsetting LED incentives.

The Summit took place in Detroit, Michigan. After welcome messages from DLC’s leadership, the morning panel focused on the additional savings enabled by integrating networked lighting controls with other building systems. A new report, Future-Proofing Energy Efficiency with Networked Lighting Controls, estimates a 30% reduction in HVAC when connected to a networked lighting control system. Utilities agreed that decarbonization and the reduction of LED incentives are major drivers of their interest in this measure. Evergreen’s Technical Manager, Lauren Morlino, was a guest speaker on this panel. Lauren presented some of the challenges utilities currently face in implementing rebates for lighting and HVAC integration, as well as a structured custom rebate solution that could increase adoption.

Attendees also tested networked lighting control systems in a hands-on, timed event where they had to re-commission a “buggy” lighting control system. This “escape room” activity was a fun and engaging way for attendees to empathize with controls contractors responsible for commissioning and re-commissioning. DLC also gathered feedback on the NLC-local pilot that aims to increase the adoption of networked lighting controls in small and medium-sized businesses.

Earn Post-Purchase Incentives

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Find more ways to save post-purchase and get more money!

When customers see Wattsmart®, they might think about lighting or variable frequency drive (VFD) incentives and other HVAC-related measures. But did you know we have a way to pay incentives on almost any energy efficiency project you can think of? There are many measures, ranging from variable kitchen exhaust fans to roof heat tape that offer high efficiency. If you find a measure that is not on our incentive lists, we have a team of engineers who can help create a custom project to reflect the project savings.

In many cases, the project may not even require pre-approval and can be submitted within six months of the invoice date without any additional exceptions. Measures that fit into our post-purchase category are pre-engineered (prescriptive/deemed) and have the easiest process to follow for participation. Often, it requires only filling out a simple PDF application with no special tools to navigate. The measures are designed specifically to not interfere with the sales and installation processes.

We have created a short video designed to help customers and specialized vendors identify some of the most common measures available.

So, whether you are interested in expanding your energy efficiency offerings as a company or are motivated by vendor referral incentives, check out the video to learn how to get started.

Need additional information? Our knowledgeable staff is here to help you. Contact us.

 

 

Brad Gilchrist, Customer Outreach

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Brad joined the Salt Lake City-based non-lighting outreach team in June 2023 on the customer outreach side of the program.  Brad comes from an executive sales role, most recently as the national sales manager for Dowdle Puzzles.  He brings great energy, new perspective, strategy and out-of-the-box thinking to the team.

Brad is a lifelong Disneyland fan, having recently returned from a four-day trip to the park where he showed his grandkids how many miles he could walk in a day.  Brad’s hobbies include University of Utah football, cooking and spending time with his family.

Brad can be reached at bgilchrist@resource-innovations.com.

Felipe Gomez, Field Specialist

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Felipe Gomez, Field Specialist 

Felipe is a new field specialist in the Utah area. He brings over 10 years of experience in professional sales, account and project management to the team. He has already jumped right in to help vendors and customers navigate and maximize the incentives from the Wattsmart Business programs. One of his first projects was creating personalized leave-behind cards containing a link to the Lighting Tool Tutorial video and each specialist’s contact information (see images above and below).  

Prior to Evergreen, Felipe was a senior account executive at Zidy.com, an account manager specialist at Acima and a business development manager at Micare Solutions. He is the founder of the Utah Latino Business Expo. In his free time, Felipe enjoys sports, traveling and collectibles. 

Felipe can be reached at Felipe.Gomez@evergreen.energy. 

HVAC Conference Highlights New Government Requirements

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At the 2023 HVAC Educators Conference in Las Vegas, there were several presentations on refrigerants and refrigerant changes. Significant pressure is being asserted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other governmental agencies on the HVAC industry that will impact production, innovation and energy codes moving forward. These changes have the potential to impact programs on the supply chain side as well.   

Here are a couple of examples of what was presented: 

Refrigerant changes

Over the years, we have seen changes in approved refrigerants due to global environmental impacts. In the 1990s, the most common HVAC refrigerant was R-22, referred to as HCFC or Hydrochlorofluorocarbon. The problem discovered was that the chlorine in the refrigerant was damaging the ozone layer. R-22 refrigerant has been phased out and replaced with HFC (Hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerant, most commonly referred to as R-410a.

In recent years, it was discovered that while this refrigerant didn’t damage the ozone layer, it does have high global warming potential. The EPA has recently issued guidelines for its use, which will restrict the production to 60% of current production by 2029 and 30% by 2034. Essentially, it eradicates using these refrigerants in HVAC equipment moving forward. The HVAC industry is now testing and pushing for the next generation of refrigerants, which will not be compatible with existing equipment. So, manufacturers have to redesign systems and adapt to the new refrigerants at a much faster rate.   

  

Efficiency standards

The federal government is setting standards of minimum efficiencies for equipment based on weather data. They will require furnaces in heating climates and air conditioners in cooling climates to have better efficiency than current minimums. As a result, minimum efficiencies are much higher, producing less savings from higher energy-efficient equipment.   

The industry is struggling to shift to meet these requirements. These changes will begin to affect stocking practices and equipment availability in the near future. Along with other regulations and standards, the changes will need to be followed closely for our programs to adjust and succeed in the future. In the short term, these changes will likely mean product availability and supply chain issues.