October 2008-Volume 1, Issue 12

Fall is finally here... the crisp days, the refreshing nights, the trees delighting us with their festival of color... but let's face it, what's more serious about this time of year than FOOTBALL?  The pools, the fantasy leagues, tailgating, being glued to the TV Saturday through Monday night  (and even Thursday when we're really lucky).

So, sit back and enjoy the season, but as you do, you might be interested to read some of the great articles we're featuring this month, including some information about a national organization joining the movement to endorse lighting as a primary means toward energy efficient buildings.

We welcome feedback from our readers about this newsletter. So, please feel free to email me with ideas on energy articles you'd like to see, thoughts and opinions.

Our Southern Office has moved and is expanding, with new staff and a sparkling new building. The new office is conveniently located only a short drive off of I-95, at 3715 Latimers Knoll Court, Suite 105 in Fredericksburg, VA.

We actually occupy two suites with ample office and storage space to accommodate future growth. The storage space gives us the capacity to keep shelf stock for warranty support and smaller/quick turnaround projects.

Our new offices also contain a state-of-the-art conference room, for formal and informal meetings. A big bonus is that everything in the Virginia office is electronically linked to Atlantic Energy Concepts' main office in Pennsylvania. This means that any transition, as far as the client is concerned, is seamless.

Look forward to more news, as we will be hosting a grand opening event at this location in the near future.

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We are pleased to introduce you to Brian Mountz, whose exceptional abilities and jovial personality have made him quite an asset to Atlantic Energy Concepts.

Mr. Mountz's primary focus at Atlantic Energy Concepts is providing quality lighting designs by resolving lighting challenges while utilizing energy-efficient and cost-effective plans for specific applications. He performs field audits and surveys to determine the best lighting scenarios for clients: keeping energy savings, state-of-the-art equipment, functionality, and enhanced environments at the forefront of each uniquely tailored lighting system. Brian also supplies project management services... coordinating mechanical and electrical engineering and construction services during the course of a design project.

Brian's wealth of experience includes approximately 20 years of work for consulting engineering firms, providing designs for lighting, power, fire alarm, telecommunications, and special systems. He has provided electrical designs for school, apartment, and office buildings, hospitals, trucking facilities, warehouses, pharmaceutical facilities, dairies, wastewater and water treatment facilities, amusement parks, high-tech manufacturing facilities, municipal buildings, and site lighting for parks and parking facilities.

Brian has provided instructional courses for small groups on utilizing current lighting design programs which allow design by various methods including Zonal Cavity Method, Point-by-Point and Renderings of proposed applications. These approaches yield a clear descriptive presentation to a client of a lighting system for a specific room or area.

Graduating from Pennsylvania State University, Brian attained his degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. Brian is a Certified Lighting Designer as recognized by the National Council on Qualifications for Lighting Professionals (NCQLP). He also holds a CLEP (Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional) designation and is currently pursuing the requirements to become a registered Professional Engineer (PE).

Brian and his lovely and effervescent wife, Patti, live in Terre Hill, PA. Their combined sense of humor has made them a gravitational force at any AEC function. They share a love of dogs and cats, their family includes 7 animals: Fred and Ginger, Basset Hounds; Rosie, a Great Dane mix; Fozzie, a Husky mix; and Miss Piggy, Willy and Holly - all domestic short-haired cats. Brian's hobbies include spending time with friends and family, and enjoying Phillies and Eagles games. 

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Your attitude reflects your thoughts and feelings, and is revealed in your voice, words, and facial expressions. Your attitude has a direct impact on the quality of your relationships and helps determine whether you engage people or turn them off.

Positive attitudes (we call them Dazzling Attitudes) are like powerful magnets. A person with a positive attitude looks on the bright side and tries to see the best in everyone and everything. They attract the interest of others with their optimism, enthusiasm, and love of life. Positive attitudes also seem to bring out the best in others.

What's it like being on the flip side, the people who complain, blame, and see the worst in others? Uncomfortable? Miserable to spend even a few moments in their presence? Do you find yourself concocting excuses to keep interactions with them brief, or avoid them altogether? Negative attitudes (we call them Deadly Attitudes) are naturally repelling. The only thing these attitudes attract is a chain of avoidance strategies by people who don't want to catch them.

Here is a list of Dazzling and Deadly traits, which do you have...or want to have?

Dazzling Attitude Traits Optimistic Patient Cheerful Interested Helpful Enthusiastic Supportive Friendly Authentic Forgiving

Deadly Attitude Traits Pessimistic Impatient Rude Complaining Conceited Uncaring Critical Aloof Bored Fake

Attitudes are contagious. Dazzling Attitudes are worth catching. Deadly attitudes are like the plague, contaminating connections and breeding bad feelings.

This edited article was contributed by Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP. He is a noted speaker, seminar leader and author. He can be reached on the web at Arnold Sanow or by calling 703-255-3133.

Every dollar that a nonprofit hospital saves on energy is equivalent to generating new revenues of $20, cites the Department of Energy's (DOE) press release, describing their new SmartHospitals® initiative.

The initiative's aim is to increase the use of energy-efficient technologies in the nation's 8000 hospitals, which are among the most energy-intensive buildings. The targets are 20% improved efficiency in existing hospitals and 30% improvement over existing standards in new construction.

Last Year, hospitals spent more than $5 billion on energy costs with more than 2.5 times the energy intensity and carbon dioxide emissions of commercial buildings.

The SmartHospitals® program will provide tools and resources including advanced energy design guides for small and large hospitals, technology assessments and an interactive website. Also available will be a series of training sessions targeting hospitals in five major US urban metropolitan areas.

To learn more, and download an informational PDF, visit Energy-Smart Hospitals.

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There is a new search engine dedicated to helping facility professionals find the answers, products and services they need, on the internet. FacilityZone is a comprehensive vertical search engine which indexes millions of pages of facility content from more than 2,500 facility-related sites on the web.

It can search by "Industry Search," "Article Search," or "Government Search," giving you access to articles, products and companies which provide facility solutions.

FacilityZone was developed by Trade Press Publishing, the publishers of Building Operating Maintenance and Maintenance Solutions magazines. To fine out more, visit FacilityZone.

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Responding to DOE Secretary Bodman's previous challenge to the National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to commit to a national building energy efficiency campaign, NEMA recently announced the "enLIGHTen AMERICA" initiative, a campaign which will promote the advantages of lighting system renovation.

According to NEMA, building owners and operators can realize a 50 percent Return on Investment (ROI), reduced operating expenses, improved productivity, and increased asset value.

To assist building owners and operators in establishing a lighting renovation project, NEMA has created a website with information and savings-calculation tools: NEMA Saves Energy. A copy of the "en LIGHTen AMERICA" brochure, Your Buildings Are Wasting Bushels of Money, and a copy of Secretary Bodman's letter are also available at the site.

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Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information, and services. Its fleet of light aircraft is housed and maintained in a hangar near the Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania. These aircraft are responsible for extremely time-sensitive health missions including transporting critical, medical laboratory samples.

Every project has it's unique challenges. According to Scott Elison of Atlantic Energy Concepts, “The old metal halide lamps had noisy magnetic ballasts and consumed 1000 watts of electricity per lamp, additionally the lamps had exhibited significant light-level depreciation since the facility was built, only four short years prior. Also, since this is a 24/7 operation, we had to find a way to meet the customer’s schedule, working nights when the planes were not in the hangar, to complete the project successfully.”

When Quest Diagnostics approached Atlantic Energy Concepts, their concerns were two-fold. They wanted to eliminate the noise emanating from the magnetic ballasts, which was a continuous annoyance to their maintenance crew working in the facility. They also wanted to maintain or improve light levels for the critical aircraft maintenance taking place in the facility.

We were able to achieve both goals. The 1000-watt metal halides were replaced with 724-watt 12-lamp state-of-the-art T-5 fluorescents. In addition, we were able to scale back the wattage even further in the mezzanine storage area. Improved light levels were achieved, coupled with energy savings. The new fixtures also resolved the noise problems. They contained sound rated class “A” electronic ballasts. For further energy savings and convenience, occupancy sensors were installed.

Beyond the technical improvements, one of the most significant benefits was the extremely short payback period of slightly over one year. This means that the energy savings can quickly be applied to the facility’s operating budget!

According to Ray Benischeck of Quest Diagnostics Inc, “On a scale of 1–10, this project is a 20! From the day we moved into the hangar, the noise was very irritating and distracting to our staff. It is now extremely quiet in the facility. Plus, before the retrofit, 50% of our lighting wasn’t even working. Now the lighting is nice and even… just like daylight. The workers are thrilled.”

Brad Salamone, our Vice President, summed up the project by saying, “It’s great to work with a local customer who truly enjoyed the benefits of the new lighting system, both the energy savings and the other advantages.”

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