Brembo Breaks
Brembo Brakes, Homer, Michigan
Lighting modernization and network controls deliver million dollar savings and superior performance.
Energy Design Engineers partnered with Brembo Brakes to replace aging fluorescent systems with engineered LED and Network Lighting Controls that support precision work around the clock.
Project snapshot
Project snapshot
Key metrics at a glance
Precision manufacturing required better light and lower cost
Brembo Brakes operates a high precision facility that runs 24 hours a day (twenty four hours a day) for 6 days each week (six days each week). Consistent lighting is critical for safety visual inspection and repeatable quality.
The previous fluorescent fixtures created unnecessary heat and uneven illumination. Some areas had visible shadows that made quality checks more difficult. The system also demanded frequent maintenance and regular relamping which raised both labor and material costs.
Energy use remained high which pushed operating cost up and made it harder to reach sustainability targets. Brembo needed a lighting solution that would improve visibility cut energy use and perform reliably in a demanding industrial environment.
Engineered LED and Network Lighting Controls retrofit
Energy Design Engineers carried out a full facility lighting audit and engineered a high efficiency LED system integrated with Network Lighting Controls.
Key solution elements
- Industrial LED fixtures designed for elevated temperatures and long service life
- Wireless sensors and controls that support occupancy sensing daylight harvesting and scheduling
- Optimized light distribution to remove dark zones and shadowed aisles
- Turn key delivery that included design installation commissioning and utility rebate management
Energy Design Engineers managed and installed about 930 fixtures (nine hundred thirty fixtures) and coordinated closely with plant operations so that work was completed without interruption to production.
Fast payback stronger performance and lower risk
The project met and exceeded targets for return on investment light quality and reliability.
Utility incentives combined with verified energy savings created a very rapid return on investment.
The reduction is similar to removing more than 1,200 homes (one thousand two hundred homes) from the grid for a full year.
Project energy cost savings have passed $1,080,000 (one million eighty thousand dollars) using utility data and metered baselines.
Average light levels rose by about 20% (twenty percent) with uniform brightness across production areas and no noticeable shadows.
The system has operated for more than 5 years (five years) with a fixture failure rate that remains under 1% (one percent) in a high temperature setting.
No relamping is required and lighting related maintenance calls have dropped which supports better uptime and worker safety.
Better visibility supports safer work and higher quality
Improved visibility reduces eye strain and supports more accurate inspection work. Balanced light distribution helps forklift drivers line workers and inspectors see conditions clearly which strengthens safety performance.
Team members at Brembo expressed strong appreciation for the new lighting once the project was complete noting both comfort and clarity in daily work.
Deep carbon reduction from one project
The project has removed an estimated 8,370 metric tons CO₂ (eight thousand three hundred seventy metric tons of carbon dioxide). This impact is similar to planting more than 138,000 trees (one hundred thirty eight thousand trees) or taking around 1,800 cars (one thousand eight hundred cars) off the road each year.
The lighting upgrade has transformed our facility. The energy savings were impressive but the biggest win has been visibility and reliability. Our maintenance team does not touch the lighting anymore.Facilities Manager, Brembo North America
Simple summary by category
More than energy savings
This project shows how engineered lighting and Network Lighting Controls from Energy Design Engineers provide benefits that reach beyond reduced utility bills.
- Stronger visual conditions that support precision work and worker safety
- Networked controls that adapt to occupancy and schedules to protect savings every day
- High reliability that reduces maintenance risk and unplanned downtime
- Documented environmental gains that support corporate sustainability goals
The same approach can be adapted for other complex manufacturing sites that need reliable light quality and a business case that is easy to defend.
The Full Story
Brembo is a global leader in the design, development, and production of braking systems and components for cars, motorbikes, industrial vehicles, and machinery, for OE market, after-market, and racing.
The Brembo North America Team in Homer, Michigan contracted Energy Design Engineers to help with reducing operating costs, improve the work environment, and help them achieve their annual sustainability goal.
Designing and implementing an Intelligent LED with Networked Lighting Controls solution, we helped Brembo exceed its goals. Nominated by Consumers Energy as 2019 Project of Year, the final design removes 1.7 MegaWatts of energy waste each year for Brembo Brakes. The Brembo team now has total control of light levels and lighting behaviors which allowed us to increase light levels by 40% to meet and in some areas, exceed OSHA standards.
Additionally, Brembo now has new insights and abilities with facility traffic trends, occupancy, facility temperature, moisture, air quality, decibel levels and can even turn motors off and on automatically based on the area’s occupancy to further automate their energy savings and sustainability.