When EcoGreen Solutions' president Anthony Mitchell learned about the SimpleTube™ by American Bright Lighting, he knew it would be a great fit for EcoGreen's Petroleum Program. Chevron stations, as well as other major national petroleum brands, were the target for this energy savings program. EcoGreen embarked on a campaign to help convert stores in the Southern California area, including Chevron, ARCO and Shell, from fluorescent, HID and other high energy consuming light sources to LED in their service station and convenience food market. Each store has between 9 and 12 2-door refrigerated and freezer cases, 80% of which use F72T12 6-ft fluorescent lamps. One of the major downfalls of fluorescent lamps in a refrigerated environment is the reduction in output and overall life of the lamps in temperatures at 4 degrees C (39 degree F). The efficiency of the T8 or T12 fluorescent lamp drops as much as 40%. In addition to poor performance in colder temperature, the fluorescent tube, mounted to the door hinge area suffers up to 40% wasted light because the light is not being directed on the merchandise in the case. Fluorescent lamps also produce heat that freezer compressors need to cool, running more often and drawing more power. The SimpleTube runs cooler and doesn't produce additional heat in the cooler envelop thus making no draw in the compressor. While fluorescent lamps offer stores a better option in terms of energy consumption than either tungsten or HID, overall they are not the most efficient solution.  

The patented SimpleTube™ line of products is designed to replace shorter life and higher maintenance products like the F72T12 lamps, while saving as much as 80% on energy. 

For the store owners at the Chevron locations throughout Southern California, like franchisee Gary Analian in Pomona, the goal was to achieve a significant energy and cost savings. "My station runs 24/7, so the energy cost of running the lighting throughout the store, including the reach-in coolers was significant," states Gary Analian," My initial goal was to cut energy consumption by 30%, but EcoGreen felt they could surpass that with products like the SimpleTube." 

A SimpleTube™ consumes 17 Watts of power and runs on direct 120V AC line power thus not requiring an external power converter or ballast. The fluorescent lighting system uses a bulky and inefficient ballast, and for each fluorescent tube consumes 120Watts of power total system. The ratio for SimpleTube is 1:1 at the cooler ends and 2:1 at the center mullion of the case. For a standard 2-door case the SimpleTube system requires just 68 Watts, compared to 360 Watts consumed by the fluorescent system. That represents an 80% energy savings. Multiplied by 12 refrigerated cases and the savings are significant:

From the example described above it can be seen that the total energy saved is over $4,200 per year. Given the initial cost of investment of $50/tube, the payback for the customer amounts to over 178% within the first 12 months. The initial cost of investment is recouped in less than 6 months.

 Installation of the SimpleTube is quick and easy. "The cooler cases are just one of many areas of lighting that we change out at the Chevron stations," indicates Anthony Mitchell of EcoGreen," so the easier it is to make the change out without a long disruption to the stores' customers the better."  
 
EcoGreen's installers remove the lamp and ballast and cut off the tombstone lampholders. The SimpleTube fastens directly to the old fixture frame using self-tapping screws. The installer then connects the SimpleTube wires directly to the main power and restores power to the case. 

"The store owners at the Chevron locations where we installed SimpleTube are blown away by the night-and-day difference in the lighting in their cases," said Mitchell. By directing light on to the packaged goods inside the case, the SimpleTube provides a more uniform illumination of the product and eliminates glare and light spillage outside the case. "The fixture is sleek looking and unobtrusive inside the case," indicates Pomona Chevron owner Analian," The product inside the case really pops." The SimpleTube creates an inviting illumination that does a better job of merchandising than any other light source. 
 
EcoGreen Solutions work closely in partnership with utilities to provide turnkey solutions to customers like the franchise owners of Chevron. The SimpleTube LED case light is a "Qualified Products" listed with the DesignLights Consortium (DLC). The DLC's Qualified Products List (QPL) is recognized by many utilities and allows projects employing SimpleTube to apply and receive maximum rebates and utility financing of the project from the utilities' energy programs. 
 
"Our petroleum program often qualifies for zero out of pocket expenditure by the station owner," states Mitchell," The significant reduction in consumption also means that station owners will be far less impacted by rate increases which are based on actual usage."

American Bright Lighting offers a 6 year warranty on their SimpleTube products, which surpasses all other competitive products on the market. The LED lighting fixture will be maintenance and hassle-free up to 6 times longer than fluorescent case lighting. "American Bright Lighting is a great company to work with", states Mitchell, "They're focused on customer satisfaction and are responsive to our needs and those of our clients." 
 
The Chevron franchise owners are achieving as much as 80% energy savings on their refrigerated case lighting, while benefitting from better merchandise presentation and enhanced visibility that translated into better sales performance. EcoGreen Solutions' turnkey petroleum program and the American Bright Lighting SimpleTube™ provide a winning combination that deliver on all points including return on investment and long term benefits.