Office building converts to LEDs

When it came time to begin calculating the potential payback on installation of energy-efficient systems in an office building at 245 E. Liberty St., the family executives of McKenzie Properties of Reno were undaunted in thinking about decades rather than months.

"We're long-term, generational holders," says Todd McKenzie, whose family developed the building in 1980.

Working with lighting contractor Have Lights Will Travel of Sparks, McKenzie Properties just completed conversion of all 1,115 fixtures in the downtown-area building from fluorescent to LED bulbs.

The company initially was motivated by a desire to control energy costs at the building, which had reached $12,000 a month before installation of a new boiler a couple of years ago.

"Our utility bills had been astronomical," says McKenzie.

The bigger decision, he says, was the move to LED lighting systems rather than the energy-saving compact fluorescent lights similar to the tubular or twisted bulbs used in home lighting.

Kyle McClelland, who manages Have Lights Will Travel, says LED systems increasingly are getting a close look from building owners who are planning energy-efficiency upgrades.

"LEDs are on everyone's mind right now," he says, noting that LED systems are considered to be more environmentally friendly than compact fluorescents.

The job at 245 Liberty, stretching over nearly a month, was among the largest that Have Lights Will Travel has handled this year, and McClelland says his company has developed quotes for a couple of other large LED-conversion projects this year.

McKenzie said savings in utility costs weren't the only factor in the company's decision to undertake the office-building conversion.

The long-lived LED bulbs may need to replaced as seldom as once every 10 years, as opposed to the annual replacement schedule for traditional bulbs. That results in a noticeable savings in maintenance costs, McKenzie says.

Tenants generally have welcomed the new lighting, which some have compared to the quality of light found in upscale retail locations, he says.