Success Story: Subway Sandwiches

Located in Norman, Oklahoma
8500 Sq. Feet
75 Employees
Annual cash savings: $20,000.00
Annual kWh savings: 235,294
Payback period: 36 Months

Twenty thousand dollars can buy a lot of bread. That’s what Subway franchise owner Steve Kaplan is saving by installing energy-efficient lighting, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, ceiling fans, and ice makers throughout seven Subway locations in Oklahoma. With these improvements he’s reduced his energy costs by 40 percent and made his restaurants more attractive and comfortable for customers.

Kaplan, a Partner in EPA’s Green Lights program, credits EPA’s impartial technical information with helping him to understand how he could accomplish two goals - better lighting and higher energy efficiency — without having to become an expert himself.

In addition to maintaining properly lit restaurants, Kaplan makes his energy-efficient equipment upgrades where he will get a 3-year simple payback or better. Because Kaplan leases the space for all seven of his Subway franchises, he only upgrades when he plans to renew a lease that is at least three to five years in length, ensuring a 3-year payback.

Just the Right Light To Whet Your Appetite

Kaplan changed his stores’ lighting from 40-watt T-12 lamps with magnetic ballasts to 32-watt T-8 lamps with electronic ballasts. He says customers think the produce looks fresher and more appealing, a result of the higher color rendering index of the T-8s he installed. Subway franchises are required to have a high light level, and Kaplan’s lighting upgrades maintain this very bright level even though each fixture was de-lamped from four bulbs to two.