Ahart's Markets

Ahart’s Markets are headquartered in Bath, PA with another store in Blakeslee, PA. Primarily a grocery store, Ahart’s also offers freshly made hoagies and sandwiches at its full-service deli for grab-and-go meals.

The stores had been equipped with inefficient T-12 fluorescent lighting with magnetic ballasts.Both the lamps and the ballasts were not only poor quality, but were costly as well, in terms of energy use. According to Scott Elison, Project Manager, “The biggest problem they had was the color of the lamps. They were buying whatever lamps we least expensive for replacements, and the lack of uniformity created lights right next to each other that were clearly not the same color.” Finally, Ahart’s was looking for a way to reduce operating expenses while improving lighting levels… to enhance the customer’s shopping experience, and showcase their products in the best light.

Rich Wilkinson, Operations Supervisor of Ahart’s Markets, sought out the expertise of Atlantic Energy Concepts, a Reading, Pennsylvania-based energy service company that specializes in energyefficient lighting retrofits. Atlantic Energy Concepts conducted an indepth lighting energy audit for each of the stores. The results of the surveys revealed that not only could a lighting upgrade improve the light levels, but give the store greater visual comfort and reduce lighting maintenance costs as well. A huge benefit was the uniformity of having all the same lamp and ballast type, that being 28-watt T-8’s with electronic ballasts. In addition to these benefits, Ahart’s Markets also reduced their monthly electric utility bill significantly. Also, Atlantic Energy Concepts was able to help Ahart’s Markets gain approval for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Small Business Advantage Grant Program, which is a grant to help offset the cost of the lighting upgrade.

With a cumulative payback period of approximately 2 years, Ahart’s is on a path to quickly adding their energy cost savings back into their facilities’ operating budgets.

Atlantic Energy Concepts installed the lighting retrofit upgrades during late night hours when the stores were closed. This helped to reduce any inconvenience to the customers and employees.

“It’s great to see lighting make such a huge difference in small companies,” said Tracy Niedrowski of Atlantic Energy Concepts. She continued, “Not only do they save money, but they get the aesthetics the were hoping for.” Rich Wilkinson commented on the brightness of the light in the stores and how much positive feedback he had received from the customers.

Old lamps and ballasts were sent to an EPA-licensed recycling center for reuse and recycling. PCB ballasts were destroyed, and full documentation was presented to Ahart’s to prevent any future liabilities.