Clean Energy Resource Teams f www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org February 2015 Greetings GreenStep Coordinator! Have you heard about the CERTs Light Up Your Station & Save campaign? It s a great campaign that could save independently owned gas stations up to 75% on their fuel pump canopy lighting energy costs, reduce maintenance costs and create a brighter and more attractive station! By reaching out to these stations, you ll have the chance to complete the following GreenStep best practice action (BPA) with a two star rating: BPA25.2 Connect businesses with assistance providers, including utilities (& CERTs, in this case) To achieve this two star rating, all you need to do is reach out to your local independently owned gas stations with the resources CERTs has created and report the outcomes (# of businesses assisted, by whom and results of the outreach). CERTs makes no money off of these campaigns, our goal is to help station owners achieve energy savings and take advantage of utility rebates. You can find all of the CERTs Light Up Your Station & Save resources to share with station owners at this website: mncerts.org/ledcanopy. On the website you can find a listing of high quality products to reduce complex decision making of the hundreds of products of varying quality on the market. All of the products listed meet a set of qualifications developed by CERTs, utility representatives and a lighting consultant. To help your local gas stations find utility rebates to assist with their canopy lighting upgrade you can look for your local utility s rebate in the utility rebates listing. If you don t see your utility listed, don t hesitate to give them a ring to see what types of incentives they have for station owners. For help with how best to approach your local independently-owned gas stations and other general guidance you can see the attached LED Lighting Outreach Script and LED Lighting Outreach General Guidance. Please keep us apprised of how your outreach goes and any questions, successes or issues you have along the way! Sincerely, Alexis Troschinetz Behavior Change and Metrics Coordinator Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTs) atroschi@umn.edu 612-626-0455 Minnesotans building a clean energy future
Service Stations - LED Lighting Outreach - General Guidance Tips on doing outreach for the campaign (feel free to add to and modify this list from your experience): 1. You can generally avoid stopping at the following stations: Holiday, BP, Casey's General Store, SuperAmerica, and Kwik Trip. 2. You can generally drive around and stop at any station and tell them about our campaign. It is better to stop when in doubt than to assume a station is not an independent when they might actually be an independent. 3. Look up as you pull in -- they might already have LEDs! What do LEDs look like you ask? View the LED canopy light fixtures on our webpage (mncerts.org/ledcanopy-products) and the photo training tab. LED fixtures will have a grid of small (but crazy bright) light sources. Older, non-led, lights usually have a diffusing shroud that hangs down and contains the Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulb and these lights may have a non-white or yellowed appearance. 4. It is 100% okay to share our information with chain gas stations. It is just likely that they already have some sort of internal assistance with regard to or focus on lighting. 5. There's the station name (i.e., Neil's Auto Service) and then there's the "shield." The shield is the brand of gas sold at that gas station. (So, just because you might see a bunch of Cenex signs, it doesn't mean that this is a big corporate chain. In this case, Cenex is the shield and most gas stations with this shield are independently owned.) 6. Ask to speak to the owner of the station. A response to this will quickly tell you if you're at an independent or chain. 7. Often times there will be a picture of the manager or owner in the store with their name and phone number. (sometimes it is in the bathroom even!) 8. If the owner is not available, try to leave a campaign flyer and your business card. Ask for station owner contact information so that you can follow-up.
Service Stations - LED Lighting Outreach - General Guidance This first picture shows a High Pressure Sodium Light Bulb. Metal Halide bulbs can look like this or more like a straight tube (no bulge in the middle). This is the type of bulb that is used by most gas stations who haven't upgraded to LEDs yet. This bulb is screwed into a fixture (similar to the one shown next). This bulb is about 6 inches long. This is the most common non-led fixture in gas station canopies - the Scottsdale. There is a prismed/textured shield that covers the bulb. That shield distributes the light in the area and helps direct it to where it needs to go. Most of these fixtures are shown like it is to the left with a large box that the light attaches to. Then, the box is attached to the underside of the canopy. Sometimes the light is attached directly to the canopy - this is called Flush Mount. This box is about 2 feet by 2 feet. These are LEDs - the actual little tiny "diodes" that produce the light. The yellow part is the substrate that glows when the light is on. You can see they come in different shapes - some rectangular, some more square. Some have a round-shape for the substrate. These are less than 1/4 inch long. They are small! Here's another LED, again the diode itself. This one has a dome of clear silicone. It is literally a drop of silicone over the yellow substrate. The silicone acts as a lens and distributes the light into the direction intended by the product designer/manufacturer. This picture shows a board (like any other computer or electronics board) with the LEDs attached (soldered) onto the board. This is how they start to turn just a small source of light into a larger source of light. This board is about 3-4 inches long. Here is the most popular LED canopy lighting fixture for gas stations. It is made by LSI. Be sure to view the campaign slide deck and the campaign's products page (mncerts.org/ledcanopyproducts) for more examples. There are many LEDs configured in a grid pattern on this fixture - probably about 130 LEDs - each of those little dots in the silver area is the location of an LED. Most LED canopy fixtures are flush mount, meaning that they do not hang down from the canopy like the popular one of the past, the Scottsdale. This fixture is about 2 feet by 2 feet. 1
When you pull up to a station and look up to see if they have LEDs already, you're going to be looking for a grid pattern of light, as is shown in this picture. If you have sunglasses, you an look at the light through them and basically see something similar to this. You can also brave looking into the bright lights and squinting to see if you can see the patterned look of many LEDs on the panel. The Scottsdale fixture was so wildly popular that (unfortunately for us trying to tell what stations have in their canopies) was brought back with LEDs for a light source instead of metal halide bulbs. The picture at the left is LSI's LED Scottsdale. You can see how at a glance, it doesn't look that different from the old fashioned Scottsdale pictured 2nd in this training. So, it is good to do our best to tell whether they have LEDs before walking in to talk to folks, but when an LED looks like this, then we have to simply have a conversation to find out. :) 2
Service Stations - LED Lighting Outreach - Script This script can help folks newer to doing this outreach understand how the conversation might go. Feel free to practice it in role play with a partner before heading out. Have it handy during the first few conversations with station owners in case you need to refer to it. A. Start With: "Good morning. May I speak to the owner?" The answer to this question will quickly tell you whether you're at a chain or independent. B. If corporately"my organization is helping service station owners consider LED lighting in the owned / chain: canopy over the fuel pumps. We are not selling anything. We are helping share information about quality lighting products and money available from utilities (rebates). I welcome you to share this information with your corporate office." Offer to leave a flyer. If they don't think they can send on a flyer to corporate, then keep the flyer - they cost us $0.80 each! Thank them for their time and excuse yourself. C. If independent and owner not present: "My organization is helping service station owners consider LED lighting in the canopy over the fuel pumps. We are not selling anything. We are helping share information about quality lighting products and money available from utilities (rebates). Would you share this information with the owner and may I have his or her name and phone number or email to follow-up?" You might interact with part-time staff that are not very interested in hearing what you have to say. So, you'll want to be friendly and strongly suggest they pass the flyer onto the owner. It is IMPORTANT to get some sort of contact info of the owner and follow-up with him/her - the flyer on its own won't do the trick! No Yes "Okay. I'll try to catch the owner another time. When do you think is a good time for the owner? When is he or she typically here?" Thank them for their time and excuse yourself. "Great. Thanks. What time of day is a good time to reach the owner?" Give them a flyer and your business card. Record the information. Thank them for their time and excuse yourself. D. If independent and speaking to owner: "Hi. My name is [first name]. My organization is helping service station owners consider LED lighting in the canopy over the fuel pumps. We are not selling anything. We're funded in part by the state energy office and so we are going around the state, helping share information about quality products and money that's available from utilities (rebates). Can I borrow a few minutes of your time?" No "When is another good time for you?" If it is a day when you won't be in the area, offer to take his/her name and phone number to call him/her back to discuss. Leave the flyer and your business card. 1
Service Stations - LED Lighting Outreach - Script Yes "Have you already been hearing a lot about LEDs for stations? Or can I give a few highlights of why LEDs are great for fuel pump canopies?" E. If Owner has heard a lot: "Do you have questions or concerns about LEDs for your canopy?" No Yes Move on to Step G. Try to address their questions and concerns with the campaign tools in your outreach folder, the highlights listed below, and with your own knowledge on the topic. If you get stuck at all, don't hesitate to say: "My teammate Alexis is more than happy to get back to you with a solid answer on that. Her information is on the flyer here." Point to where Alexis' information is at on the flyer. F. If Owner wants highlights: "LEDs in the canopy can save about 75% of the energy - for some stations, this means not having to pay an entire month's electric bill in a year. A lot of station owners like them because they shine a crisp white, bright light that attracts customers to the station. They last over a decade, which means you wouldn't need to think about storing bulbs and getting up on a ladder to maintain them. The project can pay for itself in 3 to 4 years, but with electric utility rebates, this can be shortened to about 18 months in some areas." Point to the handout as you say these things. G. After giving highlights and addressing any concerns with highlights: "Are you considering LEDs for your canopy?" No "Okay. If you change your mind, our team would love to help you out. We have a list of a dozen high quality lighting products that you could share with your electrician. We also know many of the utility rebates available for these projects. Some rebates cover anywhere between 10 and 40% of the project costs, which can bring the payback down to less than 2 years. Should I go ahead and leave this flyer for you to be in touch with us in the future?" Give them a flyer and your business card. Record any information. Thank them for their time and excuse yourself. 2
Service Stations - LED Lighting Outreach - Script Yes "Great. We worked with electric utilities and a lighting consultant to identify what makes a product high quality and then we went out and found which of all the hundreds of products available meet these qualifications. We have a list of a dozen high quality products that you could share with your electrician. You can access the list on our website. Your electrician will be able to use the information we've compiled to help guide your project. My teammate Alexis is also happy to chat with your electrician. We have what kind of existing lighting would get replaced by each of the quality products on our list. We also know many of the utility rebates available for these projects. Some will cover anywhere between 10 and 40% of the project costs, which can bring the payback down to less than 2 years. Who is your electric utility? Let's see what info I have on that utilty. Oh, look here they are - you could get [$X for each fixture or $X for each kw or kwh saved] back from your electric utility. My teammate Alexis or your electrician can help you to figure out how much power [kw] or energy [kwh] you are going to save and work out some preliminary project savings numbers for you." Continue the conversation with some of the suggested wording above. Show the resources in the folder to them as you're saying these things. Be more specific with information relevant to them if possible. H. Before Leaving: "Can I take down your information so that [I or my teammate Alexis] can follow-up with you?" Be sure you've left them a flyer and your business card. Record the information. Thank them for their time and excuse yourself. If the owner is looking hesitant or skeptical at any point, remind them that: "We are doing this just because we get excited about seeing energy savings and businesses thrive. We make no money off of this program." 3
LIGHT UP YOUR STATION & SAVE Why upgrade your canopy to LED lighting? n n n n Reduce your canopy energy costs up to 75% Create a brighter and more attractive station Reduce your maintenance costs Strengthen your business The Clean Energy Resource Teams can help you: n Access high-quality and competitively-priced canopy lighting products n Reduce upgrade costs further with utility rebates Program contacts: Alexis Troschinetz atroschi@umn.edu 612-626-0455 Drew Hage drewh@swrdc.org 507-836-1633 Minnesotans building a clean energy future ON THE BACK: Sign up to get more details
LIGHT UP YOUR STATION & SAVE Why move forward with this improvement? n Project can pay for itself through the cost savings from reduced energy use in 3 to 4 years without utility rebates n Utility rebates can vary from $200 to $3,500 and if sought, could bring the payback down to 1.5 years n Clean, bright white lighting attracts new customers to your business and provides a safe and attractive look to your station n Less time pulling out the ladder to replace bulbs means fewer maintenance costs and a safer work environment Sign up to be involved! Complete a form online at: http://mncerts.org/ledcanopy OR Fill out and return form below via: n Email: atroschi@umn.edu n Fax: 612-625-1268, Attention: CERTs n Mail: 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Cir. Saint Paul, MN 55108 INTEREST FORM LIGHT UP YOUR STATION & SAVE Your Name: Service Station Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Electric Utility Name: How many lights are in your canopy(ies)? o Actual o Estimate How do you prefer we communicate with you? o Email (please share) o Mail (listed above) o Fax (please share) o Phone (please share)