You, EMC and the Evolution of Energy Management

It doesn’t take a lot of conversations at industry meetings to discover that more than a few people lament the future of the lighting industry.  The discussions typically focus on the amount of optimization that has already occurred, and the limited amount of meaningful improvement that is still available to address. So how can the industry provide enough business growth for everyone?

Frustrating thought, isn’t it?

What may be lost in these conversations are the real gaps in the landscape of lighting conditions around the country and in our own backyards.

Lighting Management.

In 2016, the market saturation for efficient lighting (mostly optimized fluorescent lights) was at 20%. Current estimates suggest that in 2024 we achieved roughly 60% saturation. Progress has been made, and the DOE’s anticipated 80% saturation by 2035 may, in fact, be improved upon. That means, in simple terms, there are still another 6-10 years of effort based on technologies that were available at the time, and the anticipated change expected through those technologies by 2035.

As you may recall, LED was expected to be a one-and-done installation which would last forever. Turns out, that wasn’t the case. The combination of color shifting, light level depreciation, and new technologies have continued to drive innovation in both new LED solutions as well as opportunities to improve original LED installations. (We refer to those improvements as reLED opportunities. Our labor partners will be a part of that with us.)

What is also missed is the evolution and growth of the energy management and conservation efforts more broadly. The foundation has been laid by the priority placed on the low hanging fruit that is lighting, but energy management and conservation don’t have to stop there. Newer opportunities with UV-C lighting, coil cleaning in air handling units, advanced controls, and some of the latest opportunities with heat pumps and battery storage technologies offer great promise for energy management and business opportunities.

Let’s talk about heat pumps first.

Heat pumps provide an energy efficiency opportunity for EMC, our partners and our shared customers to deliver additional energy savings. Very simply, heat pumps are an electrically powered, closed-loop system that can generate enough heat for work areas while returning the cooled refrigerant back to an evaporator heat exchanger to begin the process again.

Heat pump solutions can result in a savings of 10-50% in an industrial setting. Simple ROI is expected to be 2-5 years, and when they’re paired with renewable energy sources, savings increase. Add aggressive utility incentives available in some areas and heat pumps become the proverbial “hot topic.”

Download the Heat Pumps Info Sheet.

EMC customers will want to understand how they can effectively use heat pump technology within their facilities to save energy and maintenance costs. We are excited to partner with our labor partners to successfully grow in this market.

Want to know more? Here is a white paper from the Department of Energy that can help.

Already installing heat pumps? Contact an LPDT representative to make sure your partner profile includes this information.

Now, let’s discuss battery storage.

Battery storage has been in the conversation for quite some time now. It always seems that effective use of it is just around the corner—and now it appears we are actually reaching that corner.

With California and Texas leading the way, the overall growth of commercial grade battery storage reached 22% in 2024. CAGR for battery storage in the overall U.S. market is expected to hover just over 25% through 2034.

Growth in this sector is being driven by the increased demands being placed on the grid, and the ability of battery storage to offset those increases. While the technology is still maturing, it has application and can be a strong part of the energy efficiency mix of solutions for many large commercial and industrial customers.

Continued expansion of renewable energy sources has also helped drive double growth in 2024. This is a great opportunity for customers and utilities to address grid stabilization demands, increased energy demands, peak shaving strategies and the grid resilience that battery storage can provide.

Already installing battery storage units? Contact an LPDT representative to make sure your partner profile includes this information.

And finally, let’s talk advanced building management systems.

Building management systems (BMS) continue to evolve and, through interoperability, expand the options available for installation, analysis, and efficiency gains across all connected systems. EMC has grown considerably in our delivery of BMS solutions and customers have been delighted with the results.

Our approach to this market has been to work through opensource technologies to ensure scalable solutions can be optimized. We have also leveraged our approach to developing strong processes that allow us to work more efficiently with customers and labor partners to achieve goals. This has also introduced opportunities for energy savings and fixed cost improvements in areas not typically considered.

This has been a very exciting market for EMC and is an opportunity for growth within your organization if you are not already engaged. Get started by reaching out to the LPDT to ask about the framework you will need for success in this market.

Already installing or servicing BMS systems? Contact an LPDT representative to make sure your partner profile includes this information.

So, the next time you find yourself at an industry event having a conversation about the decline of the lighting industry, look at it instead as an opportunity to talk about what is still left to do as well as what you’re doing to evolve and grow with EMC and within the industry.

Together we can successfully meet the evolving energy management needs in all markets, with all current and future customers.