Budderfly, #10 overall and #2 in energy on the 2021 Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies list, announced the Winchester Rescue Mission as its newest Energy Efficiency as a Service (EEaaS) client. Now, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie are not the only comforts greeting the Mission’s guests this Thanksgiving—they will also be enjoying new energy-efficient lighting, complements of Budderfly’s energy management service. This year, the Mission will be preparing 50 to 75 full Thanksgiving boxed meals and setting the table for another 85 to 100 community residents. For more information please read the Winchester Rescue Mission case study at www.budderfly.com/blog/winchester–case-study.
Located in Winchester, VA, the Winchester Rescue Mission provides safe shelter, meals, support, and life-changing services to hundreds of individuals experiencing homelessness each year. The Mission contains a men’s shelter to accommodate up to 35 individuals, and a women’s shelter (The Stone House), which accommodates up to 10 individuals. Community dinner is served seven days a week, 365 days a year—the Mission provides around 5,000 meals per month. In addition, the Mission passes out boxes of meals every Monday through Friday and estimates 5,618 boxes were distributed as of September 2021.
The Mission’s former lighting consisted of older fluorescent tubes that were constantly flashing, and half the lights were inoperable. To make matters worse, there were very few protective coverings left on the ceiling light fixtures—presenting a considerable safety hazard should the long fluorescent bulbs break.
“Everything was antiquated from the top to the bottom and we wanted to elevate the level of dignity we bring to the people we are serving,” said Vicki Culbreth, Development Director, Winchester Rescue Mission.
In just a month’s time, Budderfly assessed the Mission’s fluorescent lighting needs, developed a no-cost plan for installation and maintenance, and upgraded all outdated fixtures with new bulbs, protective coverings, and motion sensors that automatically shut lights off.
Overall, Budderfly upgraded $11,000 worth of lighting fixtures, with an estimated saving of 25,428 kWh, or approximately $2,288 annually. As part of their energy management service, Budderfly assumes full responsibility for paying the energy bill and shares the saving results with the Mission.
“I don’t have to deal with the energy bill, I just generate an invoice to pay Budderfly for our contracted amount that is lower than our past bills. Best of all, we have historical data to compare if the cost ever goes up or down. It’s an easy, automatic process and I don’t have to stay on hold dealing with the electric company if I have a billing question—Budderfly takes care of it all,” added Culbreth.
“I am proud Budderfly was able to make such a dramatic lighting improvement to ensure the safety and comfort of the Winchester Rescue Mission’s guests,” said Al Subbloie, CEO, Budderfly. “Moving forward we will expand our leading energy efficiency solution benefits to the Mission’s recently acquired building, also in desperate need of complete utility upgrades.”
Budderfly pays to upgrade energy efficiency, guarantees 10 years of savings, and performs free ongoing monitoring and tech improvements, like LED lighting, HVAC, renewable power sourcing, temperature and refrigeration monitoring and control, and much more. Budderfly provides all of the capital and installs, maintains, and upgrades all the technology. The company unlocks and recovers the wasted cost of inefficient energy consumption from operations while allowing you to avoid costly capital investments. You simply enjoy a smaller, simpler energy bill, a greener facility, and the ability to focus money where it belongs: growing your business.
