Commercial, Energy Efficiency  -  August 10, 2018

Ocean State Job Lot installs lighting upgrades

Ocean State Job Lot, Rhode Island-based operator of 131 close-out stores in New England, New York, and New Jersey, will spend $14 million on lighting upgrades expected to save more than $2.7 million per year on energy costs.

A report from Chain Store Age said the retailer will install LED lamps and advanced lighting control systems throughout its stores. The system has already been installed at the company’s 1.5 million sq.-ft. distribution center in North Kingstown, R.I., as well as in recently-opened stores. Installation at all other locations is ongoing.

"We believe it’s our social responsibility to reduce our energy usage as much as possible," said Marc Perlman, principal owner and CEO of Ocean State Job Lot. "We recently made a $2 million investment to relamp our distribution center, and we’re now beginning a $12 million project to replace the lighting in 100 of our 131 stores this year, with the remainder of our stores to be completed next year.  In addition to saving energy, these improvements create a better, brighter overall shopping experience for our customers."

Once complete, roughly 50,000 lighting fixtures and more than 100,000 fluorescent lamps will have been replaced. These upgrades will save the company an estimated 17.4 million kilowatt hours of energy in the next year.

In addition to the LED systems, the retailer is also implementing a cloud-based energy management platform, which will allow for control of both lighting and HVAC systems. The report noted, "Further investments in HVAC technology, waste management and recycling, solar energy systems, water consumption and overall sustainability are on the horizon to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint."