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> Mail sorters at the main U.S. Post Office in Reno, Nev., became the most productive and error-free in the western U.S. after a retrofit to include natural light. In five months, productivity on the machines under the new lighting shot up almost 10 percent, leveling off to about six percent after one year. Working in a more naturally lit environment resulted in employees who did their jobs better and faster. While combined energy savings and maintenance savings came to about $50,000 per year, the improvements in employee productivity ($400,000 to $500,000) dwarfed the energy savings, resulting in a payback of Less than 12 months.
(Journal of Property Management, January 2000) (The non-profit Center for Energy & Climate Solutions Cool Companies website, www.cool-companies.org, 2002)


> Lockheed Martin reports that after daylighting its facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., the company achieved 15 percent higher worker productivity. Additionally, the company won a $1.5 billion defense contract based on increased productivity, profits which paid for the entire building. As an added bonus, the company saved $300,000 to $400,000 a year on energy bills.
(Greening and the Bottom Line: Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design, by Joseph Romm and William Browning, 1994) (The non-profit Center for Energy & Climate Solutions Cool Companies website, www.cool-companies.org, 2002)


> According to betterbricks.com, a resource promoting sustainability concepts, The initial costs of improving a facility through better lighting, heating and cooling systems can be offset exponentially by the productivity gains of a more productive workforce. In a typical office, energy costs run $2 per square foot, while employee salaries and benefits are $130 per square foot or more. Even slight changes in productivity can have a major impact on the bottom line.
(Journal of Property Management, September 2001)


> Carnegie Melon UniversityÌs Intelligent Workplace design studio found that improved lighting with an extra up-front cost of $370,000 saved almost $700,000 in energy and operating costs for a typical workplace. However, the resulting gains in productivity were worth as much as $14 million. HereÌs why: In a typical building, energy costs average $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot, while salaries exceed $200 per square foot. Cutting energy use in half typically saves $1 per square foot per year, white boosting productivity just five percent saves more than $10 per square foot.
(The non-profit Center for Energy & Climate SolutionsÌ Cool Companies website, www.cool-companies.org, 2002)


> Pennsylvania Power & Light reported that after completing building upgrades to use more daylight, absenteeism rates dropped 25 percent, productivity increased 13.2 percent and energy costs declined 69 percent. The original energy payback was calculated to be a 24 percent annual return on investment. Once the employee productivity and reduced absenteeism were factored in, however, the actual return on investment was approximately 1,000 percent per year. In other terms, it was estimated that the lighting retrofit paid for itself not in the 4.1 years estimated, but in just 69 days.
(Seattle Times, January 18, 2000) (Architecture Week, July 2000) (The non-profit Center for Energy & Climate Solutions Cool Companies website, www.cool-companies.org, 2002)


> According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, productivity gains of six to 16 percent, including decreased absenteeism and improved quality of work, have been reported from energy-efficient building design. Since companies spend an average of 70 times as much money (per square foot per year) on employee salaries as on energy, an increase of just one percent in productivity can result in savings that exceed the companyÌs entire energy bill.
(Journal of Property Management, Jan 2000)


Easy Solutions
Products for Productivity
There are many different products available for daylighting a home or office area. One of the more popular ways is with skylights, or non-intrusive tubular skylights. These small skylights allow daylight to enter the home or office with a minimal investment and are easy do-it-yourself projects. Click this link to learn more about Tubular Skylights.