Comcast – Harshil Patel – 2017

Goals

The Northeast Division of Comcast Cable – serving 14 states from Maine through Virginia and the District of Columbia – was interested in boosting sustainability at its largest facilities. Specifically, the Division’s Sustainability Steering Committee set a goal of upgrading administrative buildings in its footprint to LED lighting over an 18-month span, but had not evaluated which locations yielded the most significant potential impact. To kick off the project, EDF Climate Corps fellow Harshil Patel was brought in to consult on a lighting energy management strategy, and was asked to evaluate the Division’s facilities to identify prime pilot sites.  

Solutions

After collecting and analyzing electricity use data from large facilities and surveying current lighting technology and controls, Patel identified five locations offering the most promising settings for the launch of the LED upgrade project. Then, through surveys and site visit audits with staff, it was found that the selected facilities had older lighting fixtures with little or no sensors or controls. Patel recommended a cost-effective approach to replace or retrofit the existing fixtures with LED technology, controls and occupancy sensors, as well as utility-backed energy efficiency funds. Finally, Patel suggested developing an employee engagement and education plan to increase overall effectiveness.

Potential Impact

Annually, the targeted five facilities are projected to save Comcast $160K in net operational costs, 1.5 million kWhs of electricity, and 1,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and the Northeast Division kicked-off the pilot at a facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts that will save 240K kWhs of electricity annually. The Northeast Division Sustainability Council has set a goal to complete LED upgrades to its 25 largest facilities by the end of2018.