The City of Tacoma launched its Climate Action Plan in 2008, with goals and strategies to reduce its carbon footprint. The Tacoma Police Department’s fleet warehouse is LEED-certified and the Headquarters building is LEED-certified silver. This emphasis on sustainability helped Christopher Bostain, Lead Facilities Maintenance Mechanic at the Police Department, convince management to undertake an LED lighting retrofit project despite high initial costs. Tacoma Public Utility’s lighting incentive program made the installations of LED parking lot lights, LED wall mounted lights and LED floodlights more affordable. The whole project took 1.5 years and was completed in the summer of 2011. Specifically for the parking lot lights, the projected annual maintenance cost savings of $3,000 – $4,000 per year was a key factor in the project’s approval. Tacoma Public Utilities originally calculated a 17 year payback period for the parking lot lights factoring in electrical savings only. When annual maintenance savings and utility incentives were included, Bostain calculated the payback period at 7 years. Payback periods are much shorter today
Read the full report: https://www.bpa.gov/EE/Utility/marketing/casestudies/TacomaPolice_casestudy.pdf