DESTIN — A new business wants to help other companies save big money on their electrical costs.
Bright Energy 360 officially opened last month in Destin to retrofit businesses and homes with LED lighting that can save customers up to 90 percent on their light bills and up to 20 percent on their annual cooling costs.
“We’re not interested in being a lighting company. We want to provide energy-saving solutions,” said Michael Iovieno, president of Bright Energy 360. “We think what we’re doing is really good. We’re saving people money. It’s a simple process. It’s not like you have to go try to convince somebody to save money. All we have to do is show you the model and you’ll tell us when you want it to happen.”
In addition to being more energy efficient and cooler than other bulbs, LED lights typically last 15 to 20 years.
Bright Energy 360 got its start last year when Jeff Davis, CEO of the Navarre-based call center firm AEI, contacted Iovieno’s son, Nick Iovieno, about marketing an LED light bulb for him.
Nick investigated the technology and felt the potential was bigger than just selling one type of bulb. The company started with a test phase last year in which it conducted energy audits for numerous businesses in Destin to gauge their interest in full lighting retrofits.
During that time, the company completed its first retrofit by replacing the outdoor lights at the Holiday Inn on Okaloosa Island with LED bulbs.
Seeing there was a need and an interest, Bright Energy 360 launched in early March.
Bright Energy will send technicians to businesses to conduct free energy audits that look at how much energy their current lighting uses and what their savings would be if they use LED bulbs.
Incandescent and CFL bulbs run a lot hotter than LED bulbs, and can increase room temperatures and add to cooling costs in the summer.
Bright Energy 360 offers 100 percent financing for the retrofits, so the customers don’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket initially. Nick Iovieno said the monthly payments end up being less than the immediate savings customers see on their electric bills.
The company also helps their clients recoup rebates from the power companies and save on taxes.
“It’s really an idea whose time has come,” said Joe Venezia, vice president of operations for Bright Energy 360. “Not every state has these rebates, but it’s up about 54 percent in 2013 from 2012. The states are jumping onboard.
“A lot of municipalities have been looking at ways to decrease all of their operating cost ever since the tax revenue base has gone down, the economy has suffered,” Venezia added. “They’re looking at ways to save money. The largest way for a municipality to save money is its energy consumption on street lights. A lot of municipalities are changing their street lights out right now.”
Nick Iovieno said customers with CFL bulbs typically save about 60 percent in their lighting costs because those bulbs already are energy efficient. Customers with incandescent bulbs will save 90 percent.
“It’s substantial,” he said.
Bright Energy offers residential service, but because lighting does not account for as much of a home’s electric bill, the savings will not be as large as for businesses.
In the next two weeks, Bright Energy 360 will replace the lights at Pandora’s and the street lights at Rosemary Beach. Energy audits have been completed for some ResortQuest properties, Cox Communications in Fort Walton Beach and other businesses, and audits are underway at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and White-Wilson Medical Center.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.