For those facing violence in their homes or personal lives, the world can feel like a dark place.
“That’s why we’re here – to be a spark of encouragement that inspires a new path forward,” said Christy Burch, CEO of the ION Center for Violence Prevention.
The center supports victim-survivors with emergency shelter, safety planning, court advocacy and counseling – and their trauma-informed care approach relies on providing a safe, welcoming, well-lit space. But recently, their northern Kentucky location experienced a significant challenge to that commitment.
“We could see smoke and smell something burning,” said Bridget Stadtmiller, residential services director. “The fire department said the problem was our old fluorescent lights. They had to shut off our power to keep us safe overnight. The whole thing was frightening for us and for everyone staying in our shelter that night.”
They knew a safety hazard like this couldn’t be ignored. But like many nonprofits, the ION Center has far more needs than resources.
“It’s hard to come up with extra money,” said Chief Financial Officer Lisa Buerkley, “especially for something like a full lighting upgrade.”
Duke Energy can help businesses make energy-saving improvements, a government and community relations manager told the ION Center.
Vincent Literal leads a team of Business Energy Advisors (BEAs) that work with all sorts of businesses in Duke Energy-served communities, helping connect them to solutions and resources designed to meet the needs of a diverse customer base.
“Different businesses have different needs in terms of equipment, financing, sustainability goals, and so on,” Literal said. “Having a wide range of programs lets us meet the needs of both small and larger businesses across the community.”
The Small Business Energy Saver (SBES) program was the right fit for the ION Center; it’s designed for businesses with a demand of 180 kilowatts (kW) or less – and Duke Energy covers up to 80% of the upfront cost of needed upgrades.
Identify opportunities to save
Energy Advisors from Duke Energy provide free one-on-one consultation that could help your business save on energy costs.
The program provides a complete turnkey solution, from initial assessment through installation and a five-year equipment warranty. There’s also no need for customers to pay the full cost and wait for a rebate since the program pays Duke Energy’s portion upfront.
Duke Energy replaced 40 outdated fluorescent fixtures with highly efficient, long-lasting LEDs, saving energy and reducing maintenance costs. ION Center was responsible for 24% of the total cost, or about $1,000 of the total cost of upgrades (about $4,000).
In addition to their initial cost savings, the center will save on utility bills; the new LEDs could save up to $2,000 a year in electricity costs, which means the upgrades will pay for themselves within about seven months.
“Now the whole space feels warmer and more inviting,” Stadtmiller said. “For many people in these traumatic situations, seeking out assistance or shelter is a hard, scary thing to do. Anything we can do to make them more comfortable is important, and lighting is a surprisingly large factor in that.”
Along with the lighting upgrades, the center retrofitted their HVAC system with new smart controls for better efficiency and performance. Plus, the new thermostats can be controlled from anywhere, using an app.
“In the past, we literally had lock boxes around the thermostats – it seemed impossible to keep things regulated across the whole facility,” she continued. “Now it’s so easy to keep everyone comfortable and to keep more accurate accounting using the new technology.”
Her advice to other small businesses is to take these offers from Duke Energy seriously. They’d seen the SBES ads, but never imagined what a difference it’d make.
“When you’re trying to keep things going and you’re caught up in the day to day, it’s easy to look at an ad and think, ‘do I really need that?’ But it turned out that we really did. And it made a huge difference for us.”