Experience Music Project Museum (EMP) is rockin’ visitors harder than ever while rollin’ back its energy bills thanks to a lighting upgrade supported by Seattle City Light energy efficiency incentives.
EMP swapped out 1,500 incandescent lights in its 140,000 square foot building, using energy efficient LEDs. The retrofit will cut the non-profit museum’s energy consumption by about 520,000 kilowatt-hours each year, a savings of more than $100,000. Just as important, visitors love the look.
“Response to the changes in architectural lighting has been very upbeat, with descriptions such as beautiful, profound and amazing used often,” said EMP Assistant Director of Facilities and Engineering Lee Richardson. “The results, which I always knew we would achieve, are spectacular, and considered by me a map for all museums to follow.”
Seattle City Light provided $121,000 in incentives to help with the project. Savings from the reduction in energy use will cover EMP’s costs for the upgrade in about 7 years.
“From the musical sagas that are chronicled inside to Mr. Gehry’s mind-blowing architecture, the EMP embodies innovation and creativity, and City Light is proud to partner with them in promoting cutting-edge technologies,” said Glenn Atwood, the City Light conservation director. “Together we’re delivering on the promise of energy efficiency.”
LED lights last nearly 25 times longer than regular halogen and incandescent lamps. The bulbs used in this project use up to 85 percent less energy than incandescent and halogen lamps. The installation of dimmable LED lighting in EMP’s galleries reduced 75 percent of the museum’s total electricity consumption.
Energy conservation is Seattle City Light’s first resource of choice for meeting the growing electricity needs of its customers. The utility offers a variety of energy efficient renovation packages for small, commercial and industrial businesses to help them save money each year. There are also packages for residential customers to upgrade their homes to energy efficiency. To find out how you can save money for your business or home, contact an Energy Advisor at (206) 684-3800 or email questions to SCLEnergyAdvisor@seattle.gov.
Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.