Yerba Buena in Hillsboro became one of the first cannabis growers to take advantage of Energy Trust cash incentives when it replaced T5 fluorescent lighting with tubular LEDs in its vegetative room.

“The project was a big win for us,” said Rick McClish, co-owner. “Our vegetative output is equivalent, and we reduced our lighting energy costs by more than $22,000 a year. We’re also saving on maintenance costs because LEDs have a much longer life. And they generate considerably less heat, reducing the load on our cooling system.”

The vegetative room is about 2,000 square feet and has 1,270 light fixtures that operate 6,570 hours a year. The company was able to replace each 59-watt fluorescent lamp with a 28-watt tubular LED while still using the same fixtures and ballasts.

Yerba Buena received a $15,000 cash incentive from Energy Trust, bringing the company’s payback down to less than nine months.

Check out the blog post for more on Yerba Buena’s energy-efficiency projects.