Finelite Shapes Efficient Lighting Design at SHI International in New Jersey

UNION CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Finelite, a leader in high performance commercial building lighting systems, today announced that it has completed a full-building lighting design retrofit at SHI International headquarters in Franklin Township, N.J. One of the largest retrofits in the region, this project showcases cutting edge lighting technology developed by Finelite through its industry research partnerships to reduce energy use and improve the visual environment.

Recognized for its history of product innovation, Finelite was selected to work with full-service architectural firm Cornerstone Architectural Group to design and integrate a custom blend of energy efficient task and ambient lighting for the 440,000 square-foot office space. Finelite collaborated with the building owners and designers from the beginning to optimize energy savings through lighting design. At one-half a Watt per square foot, the lighting solution delivers significant energy and cost savings over the industry standard while improving light quality in the workplace. The sleek, modern new lighting system integrates LED task lighting with pendant fixtures spaced 18 feet apart. As a result, the new system is anticipated to save $500,000 on energy costs over the next 10 years.

“Our goal is to enable architects, designers and building owners to take charge of lighting – the largest source of building energy use – by engaging them early on in the construction and retrofit process,” said Terry Clark, Finelite chairman and founder. “This prioritizes lighting at the design and budget stage and helps them to plan realistically for specific lighting needs. Our work with Cornerstone and SHI International is a solid example of how this can harmoniously achieve massive savings with an overall improvement to light quality.”

Congruent to its approach at SHI International, Finelite has a history of embarking on key public research partnerships that drive the evolution of industry standards while bringing innovations to market. Most notably, a 2007 collaboration with the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program discovered an average 55% energy savings can be achieved simply by combining task lighting systems with complementary low ambient overhead lighting. Finelite’s collaborations with PIER and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) led to best practices and new technologies for K-12 classrooms. Currently, Finelite is collaborating with the CEC to contribute to the state’s Title 24 commercial building lighting codes revisions that will take effect in 2014.

In a forward-looking move, the company recently announced the appointment of lighting controls industry veteran Jerry Mix as Finelite CEO. Bringing an extensive knowledge of lighting controls, Mr. Mix adds strength in leadership to drive energy efficient design for commercial lighting.

“The future of lighting depends on how the system is inherently designed,” said Mr. Mix. “Finelite is driving the standards for these innovations to create solutions that optimize energy efficiency, smoothly integrate with leading controls, and deliver the best light quality on the market. I am looking forward to contributing to these advancements.”

About Cornerstone Architectural Group

Cornerstone Architectural Group is a South Plainfield, N.J.-based full-service architectural firm, specializing in commercial, civic, industrial and interior architecture. For more information about Cornerstone, visit http://www.cornerstoneag.com.

About SHI International

Founded in 1989, SHI International Corp. is a more than $3.5 billion global provider of technology products and services. Driven by the industry's most experienced and stable sales force and backed by software volume licensing experts, hardware procurement specialists, and certified IT services professionals, SHI delivers custom IT solutions to corporate, enterprise, public sector and academic customers. With more than 1,750 employees worldwide, SHI is the largest Minority/Woman Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the United States and is ranked 19th among Everything Channel's VAR 500 list of North American IT solution providers. For more information, visit http://www.shicloud.com.

About Finelite

Finelite is in the business of better lighting. Finelite designs and builds innovative, high performance lighting systems for offices, educational and healthcare facilities. Products include ambient LED lighting, LED task lighting, high performance fluorescent general illumination light fixtures, and patented plug-and-play lighting systems. Finelite works with architects to make lighting work better for people and to reduce energy consumption. Finelite works with contractors and building owners to meet their schedules and budgets. By joining forces with the California Energy Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Finelite has received national awards for its lighting research projects. Research findings, design support and education programs are available at no cost to end users, building owners, architects and contractors. http://www.fineliteled.com.

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Finelite Shapes Efficient Lighting Design at SHI International in New Jersey