LED Lighting to Save Ford $7M Annually

Ford Motor Co. is installing more than $25 million in LED lighting at its manufacturing facilities across the globe. The energy savings is equivalent to running over 6,000 homes of average size for a year.

The U.S. Energy Department deems the light-emitting diode (LED) one of the most rapidly-developing and energy-efficient lighting technologies available today. Quality LED light bulbs have been found to last longer, are more durable, and offer similar or better light quality than other types of lighting fixtures.

The new lighting will replace traditional high-intensity discharge and fluorescent lighting. The LED's are expected to save Ford 56 million kilowatt-hours per year, which is the equivalent of 85,131,185 pounds of carbon dioxide. Ford is expected to save about $7 million in annual energy costs annually.

Ford's maintenance needs will also be reduced since LED lighting has a 15-year life expectancy. Studies show that LED light output remains balanced at less than 1% degradation per year over the life of the fixtures, whereas HID and fluorescent fixtures require re-lamping as often as every two years.

LED fixtures also offer more options for light distribution than HID fixtures do, as the info-graphic below shows:

Light Distribution Capabilities: HID vs LED

In 2011, Ford started a program to lower its energy use by 25% per vehicle manufactured at its facilities by 2016. Ford is well on its way to meeting that goal, and has already achieved 20% energy efficiency, said George Andraos, director of energy and sustainability at Ford Land.

"Moving to LED gives us impressive efficiency improvement," said Andraos. "Ford worked closely with its scientists and suppliers to investigate and closely follow the rapid development of LED lighting. In 2013, we selected Dialight, a leading LED industrial fixture manufacturer with a global footprint, to develop light fixtures that meet Ford's global needs."

The roll-out began in September and will continue through the year at 17 Ford manufacturing facilities across the globe. Ford has also announced that it will be installing Michigan's largest solar carport at its Dearborn world headquarters. After it's completed in early 2015, the carport is expected to generate 1.3 million kilowatt-hours per year.

Sources: 2DegreesNetwork.com, The Courier-Journal