Case Study: Tasty Blend Foods, Inc. Commercial & Industrial Program

The Opportunity

As a national leader in top-quality dry mixes and prepared food products, Tasty Blend Foods, Inc. knows a thing or two about the importance of efficiency. But when they built a plant for their Teays Valley brand in Frazier’s Bottom, West Virginia, in 2006, the 400-watt ballast-based bulbs they installed turned out to be costly and unreliable.

Working with 146 bulbs that constantly burned out made Mark Stricklin, Tasty Blend’s Maintenance Manager, a regular at West Virginia Electric Supply Company. On one of his many visits to buy replacement ballast kits, a store salesman suggested an upgrade to more efficient and long-lasting lightbulbs. When your lighting supplier thinks you’re buying too many bulbs, you listen.

Stricklin started to log the hours he spent changing the old ballasts and the costs incurred, knowing he’d have to do it all over again in just a year or two.

“I immediately translated time into dollars and became very interested in new lighting,” said Beth Casto, bookkeeper at Tasty Blend.

She helped get approval from their president, Roy Elswick, to move forward with the project.

The AEP reps were wonderful to work with. The rebate process was quick and simple, and the savings on our electric bill started almost immediately. I wish every project worked out as great as this one has.

Beth Casto, Bookkeeper, Tasty Blend Foods, Inc.

$11,602Rebates

Paid

$12,732Annual Savings

1 yearPayback Period

with Rebates

193,371 Annual kWh

Savings

TakechargeWV.com/business

To learn more about how the Commercial & Industrial Program can help your company, visit TakechargeWV.com/business.

The Project

West Virginia Electric recommended 54-watt LEDs for Tasty Blend’s plant. In addition to being more energy efficient than the existing bulbs, they also produced virtually no heat. This really appealed to Tasty Blend.

“We take climate control in the warehouse very seriously here, and the extreme heat generated by each of the 146 existing metal halide fixtures was a great source of frustration, especially in the summer months,” said Casto.

The only downside for the project was its price tag: almost $18,000 for materials alone. It was more than they wanted to spend on lights, but the Appalachian Power rebate program changed everything. Tasty Blend secured $11,602 in rebates to help pay for the upgrades.

The Results

Over the next four months, Stricklin installed each new energy efficient lightbulb. The savings of 193,371 kWh annually cut the plant’s yearly operating costs by $12,732. Combined with $11,602 in rebates from Appalachian Power, this project paid for itself in about a year.

The best part for Stricklin? He only needs to replace the lighting every five years, giving the folks at West Virginia Electric a chance to miss him before his next visit.

Case Study: Tasty Blend Foods, Inc. Commercial & Industrial Program

Environmental Impact

This energy reduction benefits more than Tasty Blend’s bottom line. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculations, it also equates to:

28fewer cars on the road for one year

14homes’ yearly energy use