Cree announces corporate conversion to LED lighting

Durham, N.C., November 1 – Cree, Inc., manufacturer of LED solid-state lighting components, has announced plans to convert all lighting at its Durham headquarters and manufacturing facility to LED lighting and released the results of the first phase of the conversion. The parking lots, entryways, lobby and conference rooms at Cree’s headquarters building are now 100-percent lit by energy-efficient, environmentally friendly XLamp LEDs. Cree’s LED Workplace conversion validates the energy savings, quality of light and reality that LED lighting is now a viable option for business and residential consumers. 

In a study of the energy usage before and after the lighting conversion, Cree confirmed the energy savings of the newly installed LED lights. The findings indicate that in total the new LED lights use 48% less energy than the incandescent, fluorescent and high-pressure sodium lights they replaced. The combination of the energy savings, reduced maintenance and disposal costs and the environmental savings demonstrate that LED lighting is now a real alternative to traditional lighting solutions.

Cree’s local utility, Duke Energy, is collaborating with Cree to explore the benefits of LED lighting. “Our customers are always interested in understanding how to save money through energy efficiency, so we make it our business to support innovative technologies such as LEDs,” said Ted Schultz, Duke’s vice president of energy efficiency.

“We expect our energy efficiency plans to be approved next year and are committed to having a complete line of lighting solutions available for customers,” said Schultz. “At that point, we expect to have programs developed that will take advantage of LED technology.”

“Conventional wisdom is that LED lighting is years away from widespread adoption. The truth, however, is that the performance of Cree’s LED technology enables real LED lighting solutions today,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “The conversion of Cree’s site demonstrates that the LED lighting revolution is well underway and will illustrate the benefits in energy savings, maintenance costs and environmental impacts.”

Cree also announced that it has launched a new website to share the results and implementation details of the LED Workplace lighting conversion with other organizations. The new LED Workplace site, www.ledworkplace.org, will include lighting vendor information and the light, energy and maintenance metrics that form the basis for LED lighting’s cost savings. This site will also feature other LED Workplace installations.