Allume focuses on lighting efficiency

DeWITT — Lighting does a lot more than illuminate a workspace. Oftentimes, lighting can run up the electric bill for many businesses. That’s where Allume LLC strives to help businesses.

Owner Joseph Lormand originally founded his business as JPL Electric, a commercial and industrial wiring business, in 1997. However, in 2007, he changed the business name to Allume, LLC to better reflect his growing interest and focus on energy savings and renewable energy.

“I’m trying to do the same industrial type of work, but also bring my customers more value-added services by lowering their costs,” Lormand says.

Providing that service is a bit more complicated than replacing old light bulbs with more efficient models, he notes. He evaluates numerous factors including what a space is used for, when it is used, and even whether or not fixtures are the correct ones for the space and are in the correct place to provide the best lighting.

Allume recently completed a multi-year project at the H.P. Hood plant in Oneida to upgrade the lighting. The project goals were to improve illumination, reduce energy consumption, and install fixtures appropriate for the areas of operation.

Lormand says his company just wrapped up work on a 27,000-square-foot, 60-foot high cooler warehouse where it removed old lighting and installed high-output LED luminaires that deliver 30,622 lumens each, while consuming only 362 watts of electricity. Additionally, each is equipped with a motion control so lights are only turned on as needed.

“It’s much brighter and more energy efficient,” Lormand says of the end result.

The new lighting reduced the annual energy requirement by 684,000 kilowatt hours and reduced Hood’s carbon footprint by 375,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, Lormand says. Hood officials did not respond to media inquiries about the project prior to press time.

While every project is unique, most businesses have opportunities they can take advantage of to achieve cost savings from lighting upgrades.

“There’s money out there to help people do this,” Lormand adds. Many projects qualify for incentives and other forms of financial assistance from organizations like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). And, Allume, as a commercial lighting business partner with NYSERDA, can help businesses apply for those incentives, Lormand says.

These days, about half of Allume’s work is lighting upgrades, but Lormand says he can see that number rising as technology continues to improve and more businesses become aware of the benefits of upgrading their lighting. Lormand has also done some recent print advertising to promote the greener side of his business.

Headquartered at 7000 Airways Park Drive in DeWitt, Allume (www.allume-llc.com) currently employs six people.

The company says its services include energy-efficient lighting, solar photovoltaic, and power distribution design and installation. Its work has included installing lights and controls at dairy farms to increase milk production.