Wichita Falls Arts Council Celebrates LED Lighting at Home and Garden Festival
Lighting upgrades were possible thanks to Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
WICHITA FALLS, Texas, February 19, 2020 /3BL Media/– The Wichita Falls Arts Council will be hosting a dedication ceremony as part of the Arts Alive! Home & Garden Festival to celebrate the switch from its legacy lighting to energy-efficient LED lighting of its two historic buildings: The Kemp and The Forum. The Arts Council received more than $17,000 from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club to replace all incandescent lights in the two campuses, which will result in lowering heat output and reducing maintenance costs.
The LED lighting retrofit contributes significantly to the sustainability goals by the Arts Council. Nearly 300 incandescent lights were replaced with more energy efficient, higher performing LED lights. The project is expected to reap a $7,000 savings in annual energy usage at both campuses, which makes this project pay for itself in less than 2.5 years.
“The Arts Council has been proud to serve our community for the past 25 years, not only in supporting the arts but in restoring and preserving two historic landmark buildings for public use. Working with 100-year-old buildings often means a need to update energy-inefficient systems.” said Carol Sales, chief executive officer for the Wichita Falls Arts Council. “We are pleased to partner with Sun Club to update all our lighting to high-efficiency LED fixtures. This not only provides much-needed utility cost savings but helps us meet our goals for sustainability.”
For the past 23 years, the Arts Council of Wichita Falls has hosted the Home and Garden Festival to welcome in the new year and kickoff spring. The festival is a gathering of businesses from the Wichita Falls regional community, member organizations of the Arts Council, and local artists. The Arts Council will open its doors to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 22 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 23. Between 10,000 to 15,000 guests are expected to make their way to the Wichita Falls MPEC complex in the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall.
The Arts Council will celebrate the LED lighting retrofit during the Home & Garden Festival because the event features sustainability throughout its programming. From vendors with recycled products, backyard farming and waste water reclamation, the festival offers information and real-world applications for everyday improvements people can make in their own homes.
“The mission of Sun Club is to empower nonprofits with sustainability solutions, and the LED lighting retrofit will not only serve to reduce annual costs but also reduce the Arts Council carbon footprint,” said Mark Parsons, vice president and general manager for Green Mountain Energy. “We are excited to celebrate the sustainability improvements with the Wichita Falls community at the Home and Garden Festival.”
A standard incandescent light burns through 50 watts of electricity per hour, while a LED light bulb uses only 6 watts per hour. Replacing one single incandescent bulb with an LED bulb can save 6 tons of household emissions per year, which is the same as reducing gas consumption by nearly 700 gallons annually. The long life of an LED light bulb reduces one’s carbon footprint even further. LEDs have an extremely long lifespan relative to every other lighting technology. Each LED light bulb will provide approximately 50,000 hours of service, which is equivalent to a life expectancy of 10 years of service. The typical lifespan for an incandescent bulb, by comparison, is about 1,200 hours or less than one year.
Green Mountain Energy founded the Sun Club in 2002 as a way to advance their sustainability agenda. Sun Club is funded by Green Mountain Energy, its customers and employees. This one-of-a-kind model intrinsically ties community engagement to Green Mountain employees and customers, allowing each to be a part of a community that supports projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.
About Wichita Falls Arts Council
The mission of the Arts Council is to nurture and strengthen the artistic, cultural, and educational quality of the community and surrounding area. We are dedicated to raising awareness in the region through our community art events and venues. Comprised of two historic landmark buildings, The Kemp and The Forum, The Arts Council has renovated and repurposed each to create viable arts and cultural centers for generations to come. The Arts Council Wichita Falls is a 501(c)(3) organization.
About Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing sustainable communities. As a 501(c)(3) organization, the Sun Club® invests in nonprofits and focuses on projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship. Since the program’s founding in 2002, the Sun Club has donated $8.9 million to more than 122 projects from nonprofit organizations across Texas and the Northeast. To learn more about the Sun Club or to apply for a Sun Club grant, visit gmesunclub.org.
