KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — February 26, 2014 — For more than 50 years, families have rolled strikes and spares at Hanscam’s Bowling Center located at 3319 South 6th Street in downtown Klamath Falls. Open every day with a full schedule of recreational and league play, the popular
center’s lights are on for long hours at a time — fueling energy and overhead expenses. A recent investment in new LED lighting throughout the 20,000-square-foot building is reducing maintenance costs, saving energy and adding brighter light to the center’s 24 lanes.

Owner Barry Hanscam is proud of the business started by his parents in the late 1950s but came to realize that the building’s ancient lighting systems were likely as old as the building itself. When parts of his lighting system needed replacing, he found they were so old they were
no longer being manufactured. Then he learned from his local electrical distributor that his older light bulbs were also on the way out. “I suddenly found myself thinking that if I couldn’t replace light bulbs, the whole place was going to go dark, then what would we do?” said Hanscam.

“Our business depends on good lighting. A clean, well-lit space shows customers that we have a quality place to bowl for recreation and competition,” he explained. “Families don’t want to walk into a dark hole, and league bowlers don’t want to spend their evening in a place where
they can’t see their marks or the lanes.”

LED technology saves energy and reduces maintenance costs
Scheduled to host several high-profile statewide bowling tournaments over the next few years, Hanscam wanted to fix his lighting problem as soon as possible. With the help of Consolidated Electrical Distributors and Quality Electric, the center replaced its older T12 fixtures with a
combination of LEDs and high-performance T8s. He chose LED bulbs because they last up to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs, reducing replacement and maintenance costs. And they save up to 75 percent on lighting energy, which means significant energy savings. To
further reduce his energy use, Hanscam upgraded his exterior lighting by switching from highpressure sodium lights to compact fluorescents.

Customers noticed the difference right away and appreciate the brighter light over the lanes. Energy Trust of Oregon provided Hanscam’s Bowling Center, a customer of Pacific Power, with cash incentives of $9,284 toward the cost of the energy-efficiency improvements. The center’s
new lighting is expected to save 50,938 kilowatt hours of electricity per year or nearly $4,000 in annual utility costs. He’ll save even more by eliminating the ongoing purchase and replacement of light bulbs.

For Hanscam, reducing lighting costs means he can allocate more money for other business needs. “The economy has been tough on small businesses so anything we can save money on is a good deal,” said Hanscam. “If we didn’t do anything, everything would eventually grind to a
halt. By planning now for the future, this is one less thing that we have to worry about.”

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping utility customers benefit from saving energy and generating renewable power. Our services, cash incentives and energy solutions have helped participating customers of Portland General
Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save more than $1.3 billion on energy bills. Our work helps keep energy costs as low as possible, creates jobs and builds a sustainable energy future. Learn more at www.energytrust.org or call 1-866-368-7878.