Textile Company’s Lighting Retrofit Cuts Energy Usage

Find out how Coats was able to reduce its energy use by 7% with the help of Duke Energy One’s Direct Efficiency.

Sponsored by

Duke Energy

CASE STUDY: COATS

Direct Efficiency programProject Profile

Headquartered in the U.K., Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread company. Coats is a participant in the U.N. Global Compact and is a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The company is working toward net-zero emissions by 2050. A market leader in textiles, the company was able to reduce energy usage 7% from 2018 to 2021. To help achieve this target, Coats completed a lighting retrofit project at its facilities in North Carolina with Duke Energy One’s Direct Efficiency®. In addition to reducing energy usage, this project modernized the look of the facility’s lighting, improved the lighting quality and helped improve safety for employees.

The Challenge

Thanks to a long-standing commitment to climate advocacy, there weren’t a lot of options for Coats to further reduce energy usage. When Coats began working with Duke Energy One’s Direct Efficiency program, the company had already made significant progress in driving efficiency in manufacturing processes. That’s when the team turned to facility lighting – uncovering new opportunities.

Direct Efficiency program

The Solution

Coats worked with a dedicated Direct Efficiency Business Energy Advisor to explore options for lighting upgrades at three of its facilities in North Carolina. Through Duke Energy One’s Direct Efficiency program, the company received comprehensive LED lighting upgrades without upfront capital investment, and with minimal disruption to daily operations. The benefit to Coats is brighter, more uniform lighting quality, resulting in improved visibility and significantly reduced energy use, in alignment with the company’s climate action targets.

Direct Efficiency’s zero upfront capital solution enabled Coats to reserve its capital for further investments in sustainability, such as renewable energy. Direct Efficiency provided all services and equipment to install, maintain and monitor Coats’ lighting at its North Carolina facilities at no upfront cost. The projects consisted of more than 4,290 lighting fixtures across three facilities, covering building exteriors, production areas and offices. Direct Efficiency worked closely with facilities management to establish a construction schedule to minimize disruption to the company’s operations.

The Results

Duke Energy One

As a result of Direct Efficiency’s lighting improvements, Coats is expected to reduce annual energy usage by 4.09 gigawatt-hours. Over the five-year term of this agreement, Coats is expected to save over 20.4 gigawatt-hours of electricity and avoid over 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the CO2 emissions from over 326,000 gallons of gasoline consumed.

Future Goals

Throughout the five-year term of the contract with Coats, Direct Efficiency will manage their lighting needs at three North Carolina facilities, providing maintenance services and tracking of energy savings and environmental impacts achieved. Direct Efficiency will continue to support Coats in its efforts to reach corporate climate goals.

Over the five-year term of the
Direct Efficiency agreement, Coats is expected
to save over 20.4 gigawatt-hours of electricity
and avoid over 2,800 metric tons of
carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to
the CO2 emissions from over 326,000 gallons of gasoline consumed.

Direct Energy OneDirect Efficiency Lighting Program

Direct Efficiency is a solution that allows customers to implement energy-efficient projects with no upfront capital.

Through our network of allies, we fund, develop, construct and maintain energy efficiency upgrades for commercial and industrial customers. Direct Efficiency works with you to identify opportunities and projects to improve system reliability and achieve cost savings based on your goals and unique challenges. Make a cash purchase or take advantage of any of our flexible financing options that require no upfront cost, including shared savings, pay-as-you-go and as-a-service.

How can we help you?

Visit duke-energy.com/direct-efficiency, call us at 844.343.0833
or email DirectEfficiency@duke-energy.com to learn more.

Duke Energy One (“DEOne”) is not the same company as Duke Energy Corporation’s regulated utilities, including Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Florida, Duke Energy Kentucky, Duke Energy Indiana, Duke Energy Ohio and Duke Energy Progress (“Regulated Utilities”); DEOne is not in any way sanctioned by the state utility commissions regulating the Regulated Utilities; Purchasers of products or services from DEOne will receive no preference or special treatment from the Regulated Utilities; and a customer does not have to buy products or services from DEOne in order to continue to receive the same safe and reliable electric or gas service from the Regulated Utilities. Nonpayment for these products or services may result in removal from the program, but will not result in disconnection of electric or gas service by the Regulated Utilities. THIS MESSAGE IS PAID FOR BY THE SHAREHOLDERS OF DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION.