Digital Lumens today announced that Ashland Foundry & Machine Works in Ashland, PA has upgraded the lighting in its 215,000-square foot manufacturing facility to the Digital Lumens Intelligent LED Lighting System. The retrofit project dramatically improves efficiency in the challenging production environment, saving 85% in lighting energy.

Spurred by the 2013 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection policy, Ashland Foundry replaced 400-Watt and 1000-Watt metal halide fixtures throughout its facility with intelligent LED high bay fixtures. The project has reduced the foundry’s electricity bill by US $85,652 since deployment.

A leading manufacturer of castings and machined products, Ashland Foundry produces over 50 different steel, chrome iron, and high alloy metals ranging from 50 to 7,500 pounds. They worked with Smart Start Lighting, provider of turnkey LED lighting solutions, to manage all aspects of the project, including solution recommendations, utility rebate application, and system installation. PPL Electric Utilities provided a $109,000 incentive for the project, reducing the payback period to less than two years.

“Due to the harsh conditions, lighting has always posed a challenge in this environment, requiring frequent maintenance and replacements, which took a toll on both our financial and personnel resources,” said Alden Roberts, Facilities Superintendent at Ashland Foundry. "Long after the installation, we are still amazed at the level of control and flexibility the Digital Lumens system gives us to improve operations within the foundry while simultaneously slashing our energy usage."

“In designing a lighting solution for a busy space like Ashland Foundry, we focused on identifying a rugged lighting system that was more sophisticated than simple LEDs to maximize long-term savings,” said Colin Kelly, CEO of Smart Start Lighting. “Understanding the unique challenges of illuminating foundries and machine shops, we knew that the solution for Ashland Foundry would need to be durable enough to withstand harsh conditions, powerful enough to provide high light levels for workspaces, and versatile enough to simply augment lighting settings anytime, anywhere. With these goals, the Digital Lumens system was clearly the right solution.”

“We are delighted that Ashland Foundry selected and deployed our system,” said Scott McClintock, Digital Lumens Vice President of North American Sales. “They join the growing list of heavy industrial customers adopting intelligent LED solutions for high-quality light, complete control, and savings in challenging settings.”

Ashland Foundry chose the Digital Lumens Intelligent LED Lighting System for:

• Efficiency: Significant energy savings were a primary project goal;
• Control: Digital Lumens’ LightRules^® software allows Ashland Foundry to manage lighting settings with the flexibility to schedule and manage lighting to match shift work, downtime, and holidays without needing to access fixture-mounted DIP switches;
• Light Levels: The Digital Lumens System doubled light levels, enhancing visual comfort in the workplace and providing functional, high-quality light for employees handling large machinery;
• Durability: Digital Lumens’ rugged LED fixtures are designed to withstand the harsh environment and have no glass or mercury; and
• Maintenance-Free Operation: Typical lighting maintenance (re-lamping and re-ballasting), which is particularly difficult around large machinery, is no longer necessary, minimizing downtime and enhancing productivity.