The Best Western Plus Coquitlam Inn & Convention Centre, in British Columbia, Western Canada, has replaced its halogen light bulbs with approximately 880 energy efficient LED bulbs. This qualifies the Hotel for BC Hydro’s Product Incentive Program, which offers small and medium businesses financial incentives when they upgrade to more energy efficient technology.“Over the years, our Hotel has taken many steps towards ensuring environmental sustainability,” explains Tereza McDermid, General Manager. “We’ve had energy efficient bulbs in all 106 of our guest rooms for almost five years now. BC Hydro’s Product Incentive Program has inspired us to take our environmental responsibility to the next level and change the lighting in our hallways, lobby, offices, and meeting spaces.”The new bulbs, called Ultra LED Retrofit Lamps, have an average life span of 50,000 burn hours. This is a sizable comparison to the Hotel’s previous halogen bulbs which burned for 4,000 hours. The new bulbs will last around five years, whereas the old halogen bulbs were changed up to twice per year. Ultimately, the installation of the new bulbs means that each year the hotel will save around $17,150 in electricity bills, reduce energy burning by 178,000 kilowat hours and send approximately 1,252 fewer bulbs to landfills.“As a hotel, many of our lights are on 24 hours a day,” adds McDermid. “It’s our responsibility to be aware of our impact on the environment. Something as simple as upgrading to LED bulbs will really make a lasting difference. Hopefully BC Hydro continues to encourage businesses to take initiative in making similar changes.”BackgroundThe Best Western Plus Coquitlam Inn & Convention Centre is a full service hotel, featuring 106 newly renovated guest rooms and over 5,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Best known for its exemplary customer care and indoor garden paradise, the Hotel has been in business since 1982 and is ranked as the #1 hotel for the Coquitlam area on TripAdvisor.com, the world’s largest travel site. Each Best Western hotel is independently owned and operated.