Energy Fitness Program

For our contact information and fax number click here. Then one of our enrollment coordinators will contact you to make an appointment to visit your business to discuss your lighting needs and answer questions about the program. At that time you will be signed up for the program and the enrollment coordinator will make an appointment with you for the work to be done. To participate in the Energy Fitness Program, a business must be a PG&E customer with a commercial account.

Q: DO I HAVE TO APPLY FOR SOME KIND OF REBATE TO GET MY LIGHTING RETROFITTED?

A: No! As this is a direct install program there are no rebates to apply for. We received a grant from the California Public Utilities Commission that covers the cost for all areas of the program so there are no rebates to wait for or extra paperwork to fill out. All aspects of this program are FREE of charge with no hidden costs or catches.

Q: WHY IS THIS PROGRAM FREE? PLEASE EXPLAIN.

A: The programs are completely FREE to participating businesses in the Northern Sacramento Valley in California. The Energy Fitness Program is funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission and is implemented by Richard Heath & Associates, a California based company.

Richard Heath & Associates Energy Fitness Program is what is known as a “third party” or “non-utility” program, designated by the California Public Utilities Commission to use Public Purpose funds for energy efficient lighting retrofits for utility customers in the Sacramento Northern Valley.

All funding comes from the Public Purpose Program which is generated from everyone who pays a PG&E bill. So why not take advantage of these programs? You have been paying for them as long as you have been a PG&E customer. It is a Win! Win! Situation for your business! So contact us here for more information.

Q: WHAT IF I RENT THE BUILDING THAT MY BUSINESS IS IN?

A: The Energy Fitness Program is available to you whether you own or rent the building your business is in. Your business benefits from lower electric bills and improved light quality. The owner of the building gets free lighting upgrades to the property and keeps a happy tenant longer.

Q: WHY IS YOUR LIGHTING BETTER?

A: Energy efficient lighting is better and has many advantages. It can save your business money up to 50% on your lighting bill. Also light quality is very important to your business. It can improve employee productivity and increase sales while at the same time reducing your air conditioning bill due to decreased heat production from old incandescent lights.

We retrofitted one business that had about 80 old flood lights which converted approximately 85% of the electricity used to heat that was given off from the light bulb. When these old bulbs were replaced with R-30 fluorescent flood lights the A/C cooling load was reduced by 50% in the summer months.

Maintenance costs can be significantly reduced also as these new lights last 7-10 times longer than incandescent lights. The linear tube T-8 fluorescent lamps are brighter and flicker free and come on instantly. The older T-12 magnetic ballasted fixture’s blink and flicker when turned on and sometimes hum which can be distracting to some people.

Q: ONCE I AM SIGNED UP HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE THE LIGHTING RETROFIT IS PERFORMED? AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

A: The lighting retrofit is usually performed by lighting technicians within two to three weeks of signing up for the program. It usually takes between 2-4 hours for the work to be completed for the average small business.

Q: WHAT WORK WILL BE DONE ON MY BUSINESS?

A: A work order is generated by the enrollment coordinator at the time a business is signed up for the program. When the lighting technicians arrive they will check in with the business owner or their representative and do a walk through of the business checking which lighting is going to be retrofitted.

A typical retrofit will include replacement of all incandescent screw in light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs that match the type that were pre existing. Also approximately 20x 4ft T-12 linear fixtures will be retrofitted with electronic energy saving ballasts with instant start flicker free T-8 lamps. All incandescent exit signs will be replaced with LED or retrofitted with LED lamps which use a fraction of the energy. Vending Miser controllers will be installed on soda vending machines and a HVAC tune up may also be performed on the buildings A/C units. Occupancy sensors will be installed in conference and break rooms.

All work is performed at your convenience and at minimum disruption for your business. An energy report will be mailed to the business about 30 days after the work is completed.

Q: CAN I EXPECT ANY KIND OF WARRANTY ON THE LIGHTING INSTALLED?

A: Yes. All lighting retrofitted by our program has a one year warranty which means that if one of our lamps or ballasts fails or stops working in any way we will come back to your business to replace the lamp or ballast within a few days. This warranty lasts 12 months from the initial install date. All we ask is that you keep the failed lamp until we come out to your business to replace it.

All the lighting products we use are brand name top of the line quality with no cheap imitations used. This is one of the reasons why we can confidently offer a one year warranty. Also all the products used by our program can be purchased locally so after the one year warranty period is up customers can buy the same lamps at their local hardware stores.

Q: WHAT INFORMATION IS IN THE ENERGY FITNESS REPORT AND HOW WILL IT HELP MY BUSINESS?

A: The Energy Fitness Report is a 20-30 page custom report that provides energy information on additional energy measures and savings that can be utilized by your business. It is based on your last twelve months of electric utility billing history and building / appliance information gathered during the lighting retrofit. It includes what lighting measures were installed during the retrofit with the actual savings calculated so that you know how much energy and money you will save.

There are sections of the report that cover all aspects of your business from recommendations to improving insulation levels of the building, if you need sun screens and how cost effective they will be, or if a timer should be installed on the electric water heater. The report recommends relevant rebates including PG&E’s Express Efficiency Program as well as any other applicable third party programs and new technologies as well as a list of contractors in the service territory who can provide energy related services.

The Energy Fitness Program will also provide technical assistance and any other pertinent information that will assist the business owner in installing more energy efficient measures. These reports are custom made after we perform the lighting retrofit and obtain the business audit and utility billing information.