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San Diego’s small businesses benefit from green retrofits
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In the past two weeks, contractors with San Diego Gas & Electric have been transforming small businesses in the city's North Park neighborhood into more energy efficient storefronts.
Matthew Cirello, a gallery owner, is experiencing the benefit of even minor changes. Workers changed out 50 incandescent bulbs and replaced them with new fluorescent ones, resulting in a drastically cooler environment and a reduction in air conditioner use.
Initially, Cirello was a bit worried. "I was skeptical," he told Sign On Diego, fearing that the new lights could affect visibility in the gallery and reduce sales. However, Cirello found them to be "a lot brighter."
More than a two dozen businesses benefited from the company's efforts, which came as part of an initiative by the California Public Utilities Commission. The program uses incentives to spur companies to reduce the amount of power used and, in turn, the number of power plants and transmission lines needed.
This year, the commission is focusing on making buildings operate more efficiently, however, this can be difficult when it comes to small businesses. Unlike large stores and companies, most small companies do not have a designated facilities manager. As a result, SDG&E has begun going door-to-door to offer retrofits.
"When they hear free, they really love it," Mitch Mitchell, SDG&E vice president, explained to the paper.
In fact, many of the bulbs such as those installed in Cirello's gallery run on a quarter of the power as the ones they replaced. While Cirello has not received an electric bill yet, he knows he is using less power – he no longer has to turn off lights to run a jewelry polishing machine.
The program was created by state regulators in September 2009. More than $3 billion was committed to the effort for the next three years to retrofit 130,000 homes, train 15,000 workers and install smarter appliances. The California Public Utilities Commission further stipulated that the program would be coordinated by the state's four major investor-owned utilities and paid for with electric and gas bills.
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