Boulder Books Energy Efficiency

• 20,000 Sq. Feet
• 55 Employees
• Annual cash savings: $4,800.00
• Annual kWh savings: 1,429
• Payback period (approx.): 36 Months

When you live in an area like Boulder, Colo., where there is a view of the Rockies from every direction and the air is clean and fresh, environmental protection and energy conservation are not just catch phrases, they are a way of life. So when Boulder Bookstore owner David Bolduc was asked why he joined EPA’s voluntary Energy Star Small Business program, he answered, “Why wouldn’t I?”

In 1991, Bolduc moved his 7,000-square-foot bookstore a half a block to a facility three times that size; however, the electricity bill only increased by one-third. Since the move, Bolduc has saved thousands of dollars in electricity bills per year – a plus for any retail owner. Bolduc’s upgrades earned the bookstore between $1,200 and $1,800 in rebates from its public service company, and Bolduc recouped his energy investment in just 3 years.

Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookstore

The old Boulder Bookstore was lit with mostly 40-watt, T-12 lamps with standard magnetic ballasts. When Bolduc moved, these lamps were replaced with 34-watt, T-12 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts. Additionally, Bolduc installed deep-cell ceiling fixtures with electronic ballasts, 17 metal halide 400-watt fixtures, and about 30 halogen flood lamps.

Bolduc is now upgrading the 34-watt, T-12s to energy-efficient 32-watt, T-8 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts. The T-8s, in addition to having a higher energy efficiency, maintain a higher color rendering index. These features, Bolduc says, are a must for lighting a retail establishment where product merchandising is important. Bolduc believes the brighter light levels enhance the appearance of the books, which probably keeps customers in the store longer, reading