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Briarwood Ford Dealership Looks to CGE Energy and CREE LED Lighting for Energy Efficiency
Posted on in NewsLooking to greatly lower their overall energy costs, modernize their fixtures, and provide better lighting for nighttime sales without having to succumb to overwhelming operation costs, the owner of Briarwood Ford in Saline, Michigan, Steve Whitener, called on CGE Energy (CGE, currently trading as MKBY:OTCPink) for their expertise, and CGE delivered.
The existing lighting fixtures throughout the car lot had been in place for over 25 years. After a thorough analysis of the lot space and its existing layout, CGE Energy developed a plan to replace the lot’s outmoded, inefficient metal halide fixtures with industry-leading CREE LED Edge HO fixtures that are specially designed for automobile dealerships.
The average visitor to the lot would notice the difference immediately. The number of fixtures dropped from 130 to only 74, all with CREE LED lighting within. Lights are focused on the cars as opposed to projecting outward and losing their brilliance to the surrounding night. With the light uniformly spread throughout the lot, Briarwood’s nighttime lighting now has a more true-to-life color rendering, thus everything underneath looks more vibrant and lifelike. The vehicles showcased along Briarwood’s front row shine brighter and their colors stand out, and the lights directed on them can be dimmed remotely for increased energy savings.
Whitener was thoroughly impressed by the end result. “My first impression was in the daylight. [The fixtures] were very sleek and modern looking, but then of course at night it’s a more even and natural light. You can see a big difference.”Sales Manager Tom Bicknell said, “[The lights] cast a much brighter light that shows off the colors of the cars. There are no dark areas, and that makes for a nicer environment after dark.”
As incredible as the difference is that the new lighting makes, the lowered cost might be an even more enviable benefit. CGE Energy was able to improve the visual appearance of Briarwood Ford significantly while reducing energy use by 66%. CGE was also able to secure Briarwood a $50,400 rebate from DTE Energy for the LED upgrade.
Additionally, by installing new CREE LED fixtures, Briarwood Ford will realize a 36-month return on investment that is cash flow positive from day one with an average monthly savings of $4,880. The new LED fixtures provide a projected energy cost savings of $271,210 over the next 5 years and $585,617 over the next 10 years. Atop it all, CREE LED fixtures hold an unmatched 10-year warranty, making this upgrade an all-around wise investment.
A customer video testimonial, before and after pictures and a case study of Briarwood Ford’s energy project is available on CGE’s website, http://www.cgeenergy.com/.
Contact: Paul Schneider 248-446-1344, pschneider@cgeenergy.com
About CGE Energy
CGE Energy is a renewable energy and energy efficiency company headquartered in Brighton, Michigan. For more than 20 years, the company has provided energy solutions and is now offering Power Purchase Agreements. Today the company serves customers in the U.S. and abroad, using energy efficient technologies that include CREE LED lighting, their patented WIND•e20® wind turbine and SolarWorld solar generation. As of their January 31st merger with McKenzie Bay International, CGE Energy is now a publicly traded company. CGE will trade under the ticker symbol MKBY:OTCPink until FINRA approval. http://www.cgeenergy.com
About Briarwood Ford
Briarwood Ford is a leading automotive dealership in Saline, Michigan and serve Washtenaw County including Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Ypsilanti, Adrian, Milan, Clinton, and Tecumseh, Michigan. The dealership is committed to providing an extraordinary customer experience every time a customer visits the dealership, whether buying a New or Used car, truck, van, or SUV or visiting for scheduled vehicle maintenance. http://www.briarwoodford.com
About Cree
Cree, Inc. is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. http://www.cree.com
Certain statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements and do not guarantee future performance. Actual results or developments may differ materially from the projections in the forward-looking statements.