Case Study: Republic Bank, Grenada

Republic Bank Uses Daylight to Save Energy
Republic Bank, a bank and financial services provider in Trinidad and Tobago, is one of the largest financial institutions in the Eastern Caribbean. Republic Bank has recently pioneered an initiative to reduce energy consumption and operating costs for 11 of its branches in Grenada, Guyana, and Barbados, while following global trends to lower environmental impact through the use of energy-efficient solutions.

The Challenge

Energy costs in Grenada, Guyana and arbados can vary from US 0.40 to US 0.50 cents/ Wh – which is three to four times higher than energy costs in the United States. Working toward finding sustainable ways to improve operational profitability in these three countries, Republic Bank was seeking energy-saving solutions to:

[Barbados branch averages 60% savings.]

Drastically reduce operating costs
Improve lighting levels to create a more iniform and comfortable space for clients and staff members
Reduce the company’s environmental impact
Take advantage of daylight to reduce dependence on electric lighting

Solution

Republic Bank selected Custom AV Designs Ltd (CAVD) to design and implement the installation of Lutron Quantum® Total Light ManagementTM systems in 11 bank branches. Quantum offered scalability, the capacity to combine multiple lighting control strategies under a single protocol, and the flexibility to meet budget constraints.

[Guyana branch reports lighting energy savings up to 91%.]

Placing a Quantum server in each branch office was cost prohibitive. CAVD designed a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) to run on the client’s existing network, while working closely with the IT department to assure that system installation and operation never compromised security or performance of the banking network.

This approach required just three Quantum servers, creating countrybased systems instead of branch-based systems. As each branch was commissioned it was connected to the remote Quantum server. Control and reporting capability came online exactly as designed.

Results

The system drastically reduced the energy consumption in all 11 branches. Savings range from 60 percent in Grenada to 91 percent in one Guyana branch that has greatest access to daylight during work hours. Clients and employees indicate that the new lighting levels make the bank branches more comfortable, and they appreciate the fact that the bank is also becoming more efficient.

The connections between the Quantum server and the Quantum processors are flawless, and with one secured login from a single point of entry, the client’s staff has full access to all connected branches and consolidated reporting.

“Thanks to the installation of the Lutron Quantum® systems, we can see the lights come on when needed and go off when there is no movement in a room.”