Timber Rattlers save money and energy with new sign

From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had quite a year in 2008. Pitcher Phillippe Aumont played on the World Team for Major League Baseball's All-Star Futures Games, the Midwest League named the Timber Rattlers' grounds crew the best in the league and the team signed a four-year player development agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers. But one of the team's accomplishments even die-hard fans may not know is the Timber Rattlers became even greener.

Last year, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, helped the franchise replace its outdoor incandescent message board with a state-of-the-art LED (light-emitting diode) alternative. The sign is located at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium, on U.S. Highway 41 in Appleton, Wis.

Focus provided a $7,094 custom lighting grant to help fund the new LED message board, which uses only one-tenth the power of the old sign, saving 93,381 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually and $9,338 in energy savings on utility bills.

Focus on Energy helped the Timber Rattlers install an LED outdoor
sign at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.

"We had a very positive experience working with Focus on Energy," said Rob Zerjav, president of the Timber Rattlers. "Focus walked us through the entire process - from showing our current energy usage to potential cost savings - even giving us suggestions on how to save energy in other areas of the ballpark."

LEDs produce light more efficiently than traditional incandescent lighting by using a microchip that emits light in a single direction. By more precisely directing the light, less energy is wasted. LEDs are compact in size and have the ability to dim and turn on and off instantly. Because LED lights do not have a filament, they last longer than incandescent lights. The lights also contain no mercury, allowing safe and easy disposal.