General Motors Cuts Energy Consumption and Costs with LED Upgrade from Current, powered by GE Across
GM saving $2.3 million annually with installation of 45,000 efficient LED lighting fixtures from Current across 32 global locations
Combination of sensors and LED systems expected to help companies improve future productivity and better manage energy use
Two historic U.S. "generals" are joining forces to combat energy inefficiency and wasted productivity across the globe. Over the last year, General Motors installed 45,000 efficient LED lighting fixtures with motion sensors from Current, GE's digital energy startup. The installation includes 32 GM sites around the world and reduces lighting-related energy consumption by 60 percent, saving the company an estimated $2.3 million in annual energy costs. Current's connectivity-capable LEDs open the door to future productivity and energy management possibilities.
"We manage many energy-intensive operations as an automaker, so energy efficiency is critical and integrated into our business plan," said Al Hildreth, global energy manager, General Motors. "Current's LED lighting has helped us reduce power demand by 7 megawatts. GM will continue to pursue a variety of energy-saving technologies to achieve additional cost savings and carbon reduction."
GM is committed to reducing energy intensity 20 percent by 2020 using a 2010 baseline. To date, the company has reduced its energy 14 percent. GM uses other GE software solutions to improve inline scheduling and production monitoring, as well as data collection for existing energy systems.
Current brings together trusted GE energy solutions like LED and solar with cutting-edge sensors to optimize customers' energy use and increase business productivity. Powered by Predix*, GE's cloud-based platform for the Industrial Internet, Current's LED fixtures transform existing lighting systems into digital infrastructure.
"More and more industrial companies are realizing the huge potential to save money with energy efficient technologies," said Maryrose Sylvester, president & CEO of Current. "When a customer like GM decides to implement an LED upgrade across dozens of large facilities that are often lit around the clock, it translates into energy and cost savings that can be invested directly back into the business."
Many customers are choosing to put those cost savings toward creating intelligent environments that use digital connectivity to optimize energy efficiency and business productivity. Alongside energy retrofit projects like LED installations, Current can simultaneously attach a sensor-based digital network that gives companies additional data and valuable insights into their operations. And through the power of GE's Predix platform, both Current and its growing ecosystem of partners can develop new applications tailored to a customer's specific operational needs. Those apps all utilize that same network infrastructure and can be activated across disparate sites in large, global companies.
"We help businesses rethink the way they look at energy," said Sylvester. "Energy efficiency is a good starting point, but ultimately a company's lighting and other energy infrastructure can be a window into every fabric of its business productivity. That's what it means to have a truly intelligent environment, and that's what Current and our customers are working to achieve."