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TEGG SERVICES
Lighting Retrofits Offer Savings in Energy and Money
Knights’ Electric’s TEGG Services offers ways to save energy and money with lighting retrofits that also improve the quality of lighting for commercial facilities. In some respects it’s as simple as replacing the old with the new, except TEGG is also working with PG&E and the Small Business Alliance to create rebates that help their clients pay for the new lighting and installation.
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“As a rule of thumb we can help clients cut their lighting bill in half”, says Luka Dexter, Knights’ Electric’s DES Sales & Project Manager. “We’ve been helping clients replace their high pressure sodium and metal halide lighting fixtures with T-5 lighting fixtures, which have electronic ballasts, use less energy, run cooler and a produce higher quality of lighting for warehouse areas.” |
Retrofitting with linear flourescent lighting
can cut energy costs in half
(click on image for larger view)
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The fact that the T-5 lighting fixtures run cooler, giving off less heat, make them ideal for winery barrel storage and wine case storage areas that require refrigeration. In fact, a T-5 bulb can be changed or handled when it is on, where high pressure sodium and metal halide bulbs must be turned off to cool down before being handled or replaced. |
The T-5 fixtures also go on immediately when turn on while the high pressure sodium and metal halide fixtures take six to eight minutes to brighten. This increases safety and efficiency when entering a dark warehouse. The T-5 color of light is also brighter with a greater lighting spectrum, which creates a better working environment without casting yellowish or orange light in work areas. |
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Luka Dexter, Knights' Electric's TEGG
DES Sales & Project Manager
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| “We help clients with the rebate paperwork and help them understand the savings in energy and money with conversion tables. Typically the payback period is one to two years. One client we are working with is going to be saving $1,500 per month in a production area that runs two shifts daily”, says Dexter. |
WINERIES
Far Niente’s New Floatovoltiac
Solar Energy System
| Solar energy is seeing a big boom in commercial industries including wineries. For some established wineries space is a challenge because the land is used for vineyards and in the case of Far Niente, a premium wine estate with an ornate, restored winery building, the roof is out of the question along with the vineyards and the manicured grounds. |
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Far Niente's floatovoltaic solar array field with 1,000 solar panels, located at the far end of their estate vineyards, is the first of its kind. The back of the winery can be seen in the far distance.
(click on image for larger view) |
Far Niente contacted solar expert Dan Thompson of Novato-based SPG Solar Inc., who suggested 2,300 panels including a cutting-edge installation of 1,000 mounted on the surface of an irrigation pond - what they've termed "floatovoltaics." Technicians secure ordinary photovoltaic panels to foam-filled, high density polyethylene pontoons and launch the pontoons into a pond. The technicians then lock the pontoons together like a fishing dock. An additional array field of 1,300 solar panels was installed on land behind the pond. The total of 2,300 solar panels can produce 770 kW at peak times |
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This additional solar array field of 1,000 solar panels is located behind the pond
(click on image for larger view) |
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A combination of federal tax credits and California State rebate initiatives can see the net cost of a photovoltaic system drop by as much as 50 percent, meaning winemakers can make back their investment on a 25-year system in just five to ten years. |
Installation of floatovoltaic solar panels
at Far Niente's vineyard irrigation pond
(click on image for larger view)
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| Knights’ Electric, Inc., which has previously worked with Far Niente and sister winery Nickel & Nickel, was brought in to create a design/build electrical infrastructure for the solar project. Knights’ Electric pulled 3600 feet of 4160-volt cable underground from the solar array transformer at the pond area to the winery with only two splices in the run. |
Knights’ Electric installed a new 277/480-volt, 2000-amp main electrical service panel that will handle the new solar power and also back feed the winery’s existing 120/208-volt system. Knights’ Electric also trenched and installed substructures for both PG&E and AT&T facilities which included underground conduit, concrete vaults and equipment pads. |
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Crane lowers second half of service panel
into place on pad outside mechanical room
(click on image for larger view) |
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“The people at Far Niente were great to work with”, say Art Knight, Vice President of Knights’ Electric, “Greg Allen was there for us whenever we needed anything.” |
Knights' Electric installed the swithgear (in front)
and electrical service panel on a pad outside of the
mechanical room near the winery
(click on image for larger view) |
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RESIDENTIAL
New Electrical Receptacle
Protects Children
The 2008 National Electrical Code® (NEC®) will require new and renovated dwellings to have tamper-resistant (TR) receptacles. These receptacles have spring-loaded shutters that close off the contact openings, or slots, of the receptacles. When a plug is inserted into the receptacle, both springs are compressed and the shutters then open, allowing for the metal prongs to make contact to create an electrical circuit. Because both springs must be compressed at the same time, the shutters do not open when a child attempts to insert an object into only one contact opening, preventing electric shock to the child. |
Tamper-resistant receptacles are an important next step to making the home a safer place for children. This requirement ensures all new homes and apartments are safe for children, whether the home is their own or they are there on a temporary basis. Each year, approximately 2,400 children suffer severe shock and burns when they stick items into the slots of electrical receptacles. It is estimated that there are six to 12 child fatalities a year related to this. |
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The electrical receptacle's shutters will not open
when a child inserts an object into contact opening,
preventing electric shock to the child
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The projected cost of a TR receptacle adds about $0.50 to the cost of an unprotected receptacle. Based on current statistics, the average home has about 75 receptacles resulting in an overall added cost of under $40. This amount may vary slightly based on the type and style of TR receptacle used. This minimal increase in cost buys a significant increase in electrical safety for children. |
Close up of tamper-resistant recepticle
shows closed shutters behind contact openings
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“This code will be adopted over time and possibly vary in different jurisdictions”, says Scott Cameron, Knights’ Electric’s Residential Project Manager. “For our custom home market our suppliers, like Lutron, will soon have these safety receptacles available in all of their custom colors.” |
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