2006

FOR RELEASE:   IMMEDIATELY   November 15, 2006
CONTACT:          Peter Sigurdson  (NYSERDA)    
                          (716)  842-1522 ext 3006
                          John Kavulich, Jr. (Niag Hobby)  (716) 681-166

Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart Receives NYSERDA Incentive to Upgrade Store, Façade Lighting

Cheektowaga, New York -When John S. Kavulich, owner of the "biggest hobby and craft store in the U.S.A." determined that something had to be done to reduce his electric bills, he decided to contact the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for some financial and technical assistance to help him re-lamp the interior and exterior of Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart.

Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart received $1,015.00 in financial incentives through the New York Energy $mart^SM   Smart Equipment Choices Program, a popular incentive program that provides up to $10,000.00 in cash incentives for pre-qualified energy-efficient products, such as lighting.

Peter R. Smith President and CEO of NYSERDA said, "A business owner knows all too well the impact that energy costs can have on their bottom line. Taking the steps to implement energy-efficient measures, such as lighting, can make a huge difference, not only in terms of energy efficiency and reduced energy costs, but aesthetically as well. We are pleased to see businesses like Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart take advantage of the financial and technical assistance available to them, which will allow them to invest their savings in other areas of their business."   

"I was looking to substantially reduce my monthly electric usage while simultaneously improving the shopping experience of our customers.  The lighting in the hobby department and craft department was energy inefficient, and the color was dampening, not highlighting, the merchandise.  And, the outdoor signage was also energy inefficient neon," said Mr. Kavulich. 

Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart installed 203 retrofit high-efficiency T-8 fixtures with electronic ballasts, replacing older, less efficient T-12 and T-8 fixtures with magnetic ballasts.  The estimated annual cost savings is $10,494.00, with a simple payback in 1.8 years.

Working with my lighting contractors, Buffalo, New York-based The Bulb Man and Cheektowaga, New York-based Santoro Signs, and NYSERDA, Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart was able to replace the outdated and inefficient lighting throughout the store and in our outdoor signage by incorporating high-efficiency lighting at much less cost that originally anticipated," concluded Mr. Kavulich.

The neon outdoor building signage was replaced with LED's and the T-12 fixtures in the message board on the street sign were replaced with high efficiency T-8 fixtures.

Funding for the Smart Equipment Choices Program and other NYSERDA incentives are provided through the New York Energy $mart^SM program, which lowers electricity costs by encouraging energy efficiency as the State's electric utilities move to competition. The programs are available to all electric distribution customers (residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial) of Central Hudson, Con Edison, NYSEG, Niagara Mohawk, Orange and Rockland, and Rochester Gas and Electric.

New York Energy $mart^SM programs are funded by a System Benefits Charge (SBC) paid by electric distribution customers of participating utilities. NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation established by law in 1975, administers SBC funds and programs under an agreement with the Public Service Commission.

In the past five years, the New York Energy $mart^SM  Program has provided more than $42.17 million in energy-efficiency incentives to more than 1,300 customers in Erie County, ranging from county and local governments, commercial/industrial enterprises, small businesses, college and universities, various institutions, agri-business, homeowners and renters.

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