Learning how many people at work it takes to change a light bulb could be the perfect activity to mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22.

Lighting consumes 40 per cent of electricity in commercial buildings, and Ryan Skomorowski, the founder of a local energy retrofitting and sustainability consulting firm, says changing lighting is the easiest way to conserve energy and save money in the commercial realm, which gobbles up more than 35 per cent of total electricity use in Canada.

Businesses can swiftly switch old incandescent tubes with compact fluorescents. They can also install energy efficient ballasts, the metal containers into which tubes are clipped.

Skomorowski, CEO of Green.Switch Capital and founder of Greenscape Capital Group, says replacing incandescent and compact fluorescent lights with LED lights can reduce electricity costs by 80 per cent, and replacing the bulbs with LED lights in old exit signs in buildings saves an average of $20 per year per sign. Over five years this saves 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

B.C. Hydro reports that if every small business in B.C. upgraded the lighting on one exit sign, the energy savings would be enough to power 1,300 homes.

Turning off equipment can also significantly save energy.

For every 1,000 kilowatt hours a business saves by turning off equipment and machines, it cuts $55 from its utility bill, according to B.C. Hydro.

A single computer workstation uses about 120 watts of power on average. If 10,000 computer workstations across B.C. were completely shut off over nights and weekends, it could potentially cut their collective energy use by 50 per cent.

Skomorowski said computers that aren't turned off should be set to low-power sleep mode after a period of inactivity. He said screen savers can run with the same energy as a computer that's in use.

Skomorowski also recommends motion detectors for lights in areas that are infrequently used and timers that turn off lights and computers in small businesses. He suggested more sophisticated monitoring systems that can control energy outputs, including air conditioning, for bigger businesses.

Skomorowski says shop owners could spend $2,000 to change all their lights and install timers or motion detectors, mid-sized businesses could spend $25,000 to $60,000 and the "sky's the limit" in terms of spending for large companies that want to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

He says B.C. Hydro offers a range of rebates for mid-sized businesses going green. "More and more it's becoming a business driver," Skomorowski said. "People have mandates, especially coming down from governments and other things that if you're not monitoring or becoming carbon neutral or off-setting our gasses, it's becoming more of a decider in getting contracts and facilitating them and beating out competition as a market differentiator."

Greenscape Capital, through Green.Switch Capital, helps companies pay for green retrofits that companies pay back over time.

It mainly works with "dirty businesses"--companies that make deliveries, car dealerships, parking garages and big box operators.

Greenscape recently financed construction of a 4,500-stall parking garage at Denver International Airport as a green showpiece for the company, which will own 90 per cent of the project. The parkade includes geothermal energy, energy efficient lighting and electric car plug-ins.

crossi@vancourier.com