Grand Central Bakery’s recipe for success uses a pinch of new technology and a dash of cash incentives to serve up increased energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, and more comfortable facilities.

The bakery completed lighting upgrades in its seven locations, requiring about 200 new LED bulbs. The bakery’s in-house maintenance staff completed the installations, brightening the spaces by replacing less-efficient incandescent bulbs to improve the customer dining experience.

The new LEDs last longer than incandescent bulbs, which means less frequent replacements for the maintenance staff. Grand Central’s facilities stay cooler because LEDs emit less heat and the air conditioner now can keep up. The business now saves over $1,000 a year at the Sellwood location alone, on top of the reductions in power used by the bulbs.

Energy Trust provided Grand Central Bakery with $4,400 in incentives, covering about half the cost of the upgrades.