Why Non-Green Companies are Going the Way of the Dinosaur

As customers, vendors, and stake holders become more savvy, the power they wield over the business world greatly increases. Companies are having to rethink, rewire, and rework how they do business in this dynamic economy. One of the concepts that many buyers associate with forward thinking and innovation is sustainability (marketers have caught on to this). Businesses that are stuck in their ways and not willing to adjust will soon find themselves out of favor with tomorrow's marketplace. Sustainability goes way beyond just changing out light bulbs. It is a belief system that has the welfare of the earth for future generations at its essence (it is also good for business). Sustainability is global stewardship. Firms who fail to realize this will slowly drift into obscurity and irrelevance, very similar to how old non efficient operations/programs are doing. You probably have already heard this, but some ideas bare repeating.

FCI’s New Service Offering-The FCI Maintenance Agreement

In the New Year, FCI is focused on providing better services to our clients.  The latest service provided by FCI is the new FCI Maintenance Agreement.  This is a contractual service offered to past, present and potential clients of FCI.  Sustainability and saving money is a priority for all businesses and the maintenance agreement does both.   This service allows businesses to take advantage of a universal flush of their energy consumption.  This opportunity intends to strategically assess an entire building to effectively calculate energy usage, hours of operations, business tasks, employee traffic, and other miscellaneous factors that affect the overhead. 

The procedure is simple.  FCI will agree to provide the audit and consultation – which includes site inspection and survey of what is existing, audit and evaluation of what is non-efficient, and recommend energy-efficient upgrade opportunities.  The initial inspection and retrofit is scheduled upon signing of the Maintenance Agreement.  This includes but is not limited to complete re-lamping, replacement, retrofit and cleaning of client’s “maintained items”, which will be listed within the terms of the agreement.  Retrofit is a term used to “upgrade” non-efficient items, which will also be included within the terms of the agreement, where upgrades are appropriate. 

This agreement describes maintenance services to the client for a twelve (12) month period.  Quarterly inspection and maintenance visits will be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time.  In the event of an emergency, FCI will respond accordingly to fulfill needs and services within the contract year.

The maintenance service will be performed in a professional and competent manner, conforming to industry standards.  Each of the individuals assigned to provide any service under this agreement has the proper skill, training, and background to provide the maintenance.  All products will be installed in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and will carry the manufacturer’s warranties on products. 

For more information regarding FCI or the Maintenance Agreement service or to schedule a consultation, please contact FCI at (562) 719-9300.

FCI Looking to Shake Things Up With Ozone Laundry Systems

With innovation being one of FCI's core values, we are always looking for cutting edge technologies to introduce to our client base. The newest addition to our product portfolio is AscendWash, an ozone supported laundry (OSL) system. Believe it or not, on premise laundry (OPL) is one of the largest operational expenditures in a property. Ozone systems greatly reduce these costs while doing a better job of laundry cleaning. FCI is partnering with E3 Pros to bring our clients this great new product that will reduce operational costs and disinfect laundry more effectively. Contact us today for a no obligation savings analysis on how AscendWash can work for you!

T-12 Lamps Will Be History in 2012

All good things must come to an end to make way for better ones. T-12 lamps with magnetic ballasts, most commonly found in office buildings and warehouses, will be phased out of production in the summer of 2012. Thus, the rebates an incentives that are offered to businesses to replace this old technology with the newer T-8 lamp with electronic ballast are expiring in 2012 as well. This is the perfect time to get your lighting upgraded, improve your facility, and reduce operational costs. A lighting retrofit is one of the simplest and quickest ways to boost your bottom line and increase facility efficiency. So what are you waiting for? Contact FCI today to start saving, before it's too late.

FCI Rolls Out Rytec High Speed Doors

FCI is excited to announce that we are now offering a new product, High Speed Doors, which are made by Rytec Corporation (Rytec Doors). Rytec doors reduce the energy costs that are prevalent in industries that need to keep the interior temperatures of their facilities at a specific level, such as cold storage facilities. The California IOU's (Investor Owned Utilities) are offering significant rebates and incentives for the installation of high speed doors, some offer up to 100% of the cost. Rytec High Speed Doors are ideal for cold storage and refrigerated warehouses, automobile dealerships, car wash and truck wash, apartment, condo, and loft parking, and much more. To find out more about this awesome new product that we offer,contact FCI at (562) 719-9300.

So How Does Demand Response Work Anyway?

Demand Response (DR) is a collective group of programs and activities that enable a better distribution of energy use across the grid. During peak energy use times, utilities seek to better control energy load to mitigate blackouts and limit the need to generate more electricity from power plants. Demand Response is becoming a more mainstream and widely accepted approach for reducing critical energy load for both commercial and residential users. Users who are a part of a Demand Response program are called upon to reduce their energy load by a certain percentage when an event is called (an event is when the utility company calls for energy reduction from DR participants). There are DR programs that even pay participants for participating in them even if no energy reduction events are called. Demand Response is an attractive proposition for many businesses because it provides another stream of revenue and also shows that these companies are environmentally friendly, doing their part to improve the energy crisis. FCI currently offers Southern California Edison's (SCE) Capacity Bidding Program to our clients. We do this in addition to the energy efficiency and water conservation solutions that we offer in order to provide our customers with maximum energy saving potential.

FCI Partners With Pasadena Water and Power To Implement SBDI Program

FCI is now working with Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) to implement its Small Business and Direct Install (SBDI) program. With PWP, FCI will identify customers that qualify for an assortment of measures such as LED lighting, Electronically Commutated Motors (ECM), Anti Sweat Controls, HVAC work, and water products. PWP is taking a comprehensive approach as it relates to serving their customers. FCI is excited to be a part of this new endeavor and we look forward to serving the city of Pasadena.