DayStar Natural
Lighting Systems
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Growing concerns over energy efficiency and awareness of environmental
issues have sparked many recent technological innovations in the lighting
industry that maintain the quality consumers have come to expect while reducing
the economical and environmental impact as well. Such consumer demand has
created new markets for entrepreneurs wanting to be part of this environmentally
friendly and cost-effective "green" technological movement.
Carbondale's Steven Johnson is one such entrepreneur.
Johnson, an industrial electrician for 22 years, recently started a company
he calls Southern Lights. His aim is to install energy-efficient lighting
for new construction jobs and retro-fit projects within existing facilities.
Johnson installs lights that use "green lighting technology," a
favorite phrase of his that incorporates the various benefits of his new trade.
Johnson bases the green lighting technology on the same school of thought
as "green building technology," a trend in architecture dedicated
to using energy wisely.
"It's about doing more with less - using better and efficient lighting
with less electricity, and incorporating daylight into a lot of lighting schemes,"
he explained.
Johnson was inspired to venture down this path while working on a project
at a previous job as a facilities engineer. His assignment at the time was
to upgrade and service 28 acres of lighting at a local manufacturer. In light
of such a massive undertaking, Johnson began to consult local lighting vendors
about how he could best approach the project. His research turned up green
lighting technology, which saved the manufacturer thousands of dollars in
energy costs, according to Johnson.
So Johnson went into business for himself, providing the only lighting company
in the Carbondale area using the green lighting technology concept. Yet even
with the cost and environmental advantages that such technology can bring,
many businesses are reluctant to change according to Johnson.
"At times people feel that they do not have money lying around to spend
on new lighting [or that] their lighting fixtures at this time are good enough,"
said Johnson. "But what they do not realize is they could have better
lighting, and the cost in some cases could be paid back within a year with
all the money they save from energy costs."
Johnson added that when clients see the technology work, they are satisfied
with the results. He also said that many businesses are not aware that they
may not have complied with federal mandates outlined in the Energy Policy
Act of 2005, which only allows vendors to sell only energy efficient lighting
by 2010. By then, businesses with no energy efficient technology will have
to change their lighting systems regardless because the old technology for
light fixtures will be obsolete and and no longer available at lighting vendors.
Johnson feels that with the rapid technological advances happening to green
lighting technology, local businesses and even residential areas are of now
able to afford to make the requisite changes. And that is Johnson's goal,
to get everyone on the green lighting technology circuit in the Carbondale
area one building at a time.
For more information on Southern Lights, call 618-964-1980 or 521-8296.