Project Summary
Edgar Herrera and his family have owned 12 McDonald’s restaurants, including an Arlington Heights location, since 1991. Over the years, maintenance costs rose and aging HVAC equipment failure resulted in loss of business on hot days. When Herrera attended a McDonald’s event, he learned about the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program. This led him on a path to successfully upgrade his air conditioning units which saved him money and energy.
ComEd connected Herrera with an authorized Energy Efficiency Service Provider to provide a free assessment, and help with installations and paperwork.
The Solution
The Service Provider made sure Herrera understood the program benefits, the financials, and the energy-saving equipment options for his facilities. He started by upgrading to LED lights and moved on to the HVAC units.
“The assessment was straightforward and easy to understand. They came out one day to check out my restaurants and within a couple days had an assessment for me that explained the costs and how much money I would save. I used that to make a decision and realized it was in my best interest to replace HVAC units,” said Herrera.
Project Benefits
Profit margins in the restaurant business are notoriously low, so Herrera initially had difficulty committing to the cost and the long term benefits. However, the energy and cost savings from the lighting alone enabled Herrera to put that money to work paying for the next phase of the project. The projects will pay for themselves in just two years.
“The [ComEd] Energy Efficiency Program is fantastic and only possible for me thanks to the incentives. Without the incentives, I wouldn’t have been able to do all the upgrades at once,” says Herrera.
Herrera was thrilled to be able to save so much money on his electric bills. His customers no longer complain about the air conditioning and his family business is currently in the process of allocating these savings toward more lighting projects and investing in more energy efficient equipment.
"The ComEd Energy Efficiency Program is fantastic and only possible for me thanks to the incentives and the help of the Service Provider."
