As part of a company-wide initiative to combat rising energy costs, Lear Corp (NYSE:LEA) has begun the installation of new energy-efficient plant lighting in more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space in five of it’s facilities in Mexico and Honduras. The lighting retrofits will deliver more than $3.1 million in electrical savings over the next five years and eliminate more than 4.8 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

The plants, which are required to purchase electricity from the local government-owned utilities, are paying up to $0.14 per kilowatt hour for power. The more efficient T5 lighting system has allowed them to reduce their energy needs and has also led to improved safety, security and worker satisfaction.  Lear expects the project will pay for itself in less than twelve months.

“Our manufacturing facilities were using less efficient metal halide lamps that, over time, were producing less light while consuming the same amount of electricity” explained Lear Purchasing Manager, Rogelio Reynoso. “After our initial study, we quickly realized that the new T5 fluorescent lighting fixtures gave us improved lighting levels, better color, and used almost half as much electricity.”  The use of fixture-mounted occupancy sensors added to the savings equation by automatically turning lights off in low traffic areas while not in use.

Lear entered into an agreement to purchase the new T5 lighting fixtures from Electrical Marketplace, Inc., a Pompano Beach, Florida based supplier of energy efficient lighting and supplies.

About Lear - Lear Corporation is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive seating systems, electrical distribution systems and electronics products. The Company's world-class products are designed, engineered and manufactured by a diverse team of 91,000 employees at 215 facilities in 35 countries. Lear's headquarters are in Southfield, Michigan. Lear is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol [LEA]. Further information about Lear is available on the Internet at http://www.lear.com.

About Electrical Marketplace, Inc. – Electrical Marketplace offers high quality energy-efficient lighting and electrical materials at substantial savings over the traditional lighting and electrical wholesaler.  Through it’s “Relight with T5” Green Initiative, Electrical Marketplace hopes to educate operations managers from every industry about the benefits of more energy-efficient T5 lighting.  http://www.electricalmarketplace.com and http://www.relightwitht5.com