“Lighting is a prime concern for retailers in general and jewelers in particular,” explains Brian Heaps, co- owner of Talner Jewelers in New Rochelle.  “Merchandise that doesn’t show well, doesn’t sell well,” he added.   Like many of New York’s main street businesses, Heaps and partner Al Tarantino are weathering tough economic times by reducing their operating costs wherever possible.

Yet before agreeing to swap out old incandescent bulbs and T12 florescent lighting for new LEDs and T8 replacements, the businessmen insisted on lots of samples to make sure the new lighting provided the right kind of light – an inviting white, not too yellow.  

“The Con Edison contractor understood that this was about the quality of the light as well as about the savings.  Before signing us up, he provided a whole bank of bulbs that we tested across an entire section of the store,” Tarantino added waving his arm towards the ceiling. Thanks to the New Rochelle BID’s Restaurant and Business Support Program in partnership with Con Edison, Talner Jewelers was able to swap out incandescent bulbs for new LEDs in both ceiling fixtures and in their display cases.  Seventy-percent of the cost of the retrofit was covered by Con Edison’s Small Business Direct Install Program, and the remaining cost to the business was covered by savings realized in the first 6 months following the upgrades.

“The lighting retrofit work and the subsequent energy savings exceeded our most optimistic expectations. I can look up and count the savings” Tarantino confided.  “Energy is a significant part of our operating costs and by knocking out $500 to $1000 in monthly costs, we’re chipping away at unnecessary expenses piece by piece,” he added.

In addition to the savings from replacing old bulbs, the store owners discovered an unexpected benefit – they have seen a demonstrative reduction in their cooling costs.  “Our lighting generated so much heat that we ran our AC twelve months a year, nine hours a day.  With the new lights, we haven’t had to turn the air conditioning on once this spring, nor have we had to cut back lighting even on the hottest days to maintain a comfortable temperature.” Heaps said.  In retrospect, after going through the process, updated lighting is a “no brainer”.