Opening a retail outlet has proven to be a very bright idea for entrepreneur Mike Swan and his team at Encon Bermuda.

It has taken three years to turn the idea into reality, but Mr Swan feels it has been worth the wait.

The Lighthouse stocks a range of lighting products, including LED and solar items. It is a natural progression of Encon’s alternative power and energy conservation focus.

And the transportation side of the business, Veelr, is also thriving with a healthy demand for electric-powered gadgets, such as hoverboards, and is anticipating the arrival of a two-seater electric vehicle called MyCar.

The Lighthouse store is on Happy Valley Road, Pembroke, as is in part of the family-owned building that has also been used as a base for CF Batson Swan Mobile Plumbing and Heating.

Mr Swan believes the time is right for a shop specialising in energy efficient lighting solutions and electric-powered transportation.

“Everyone has been hurting financially; everyone has energy bills to pay,” he explained.

“I’ve been selling LED lightning since 2008, and I was probably the first person on the Island doing so.

“I was knocking on doors and selling the lights. Then I thought it would be easier to have a store where people could come and buy them.”

With the help of two colleagues, Mr Swan refashioned the ground floor premises into a shop. He financed the venture himself.

Explaining the advantages of LED lighting compared with incandescent and halogen light, he said that with the latter much of the energy is wasted as heat, whereas with LED most of the energy produces light.

While LED is a more expensive option initially, it makes financial sense in the longer term, Mr Swan said.

“In a commercial setting it can pay for itself with two months. In a residential setting the payback takes a little longer. But prices are coming down and the lights are becoming more efficient.”

Customers are encouraged to start out by replacing the normal lighting in their most used rooms with LED alternatives, and then compare their subsequent electricity bills to see the difference.

“The savings are massive,” said Mr Swan, who has seen it for himself with a number of appliances, such as solar panels he uses to heat water.

Giving other examples, he said one client, a jewellery shop, had sliced its monthly energy bill from $1,300 to $500 as a result of installing LED lights. Some of that saving was achieved by the shop needing less air-conditioning to counteract the heat from the old-style lighting.

Another customer was a major hotel, which reduced its annual energy bill by $2 million as a result of lower power consumption achieved with newer technologies, including lighting solutions provided by The Lighthouse and Encon Bermuda.

Mr Swan said the shop offers an environment where customers can come in and learn about the benefits of LED technology.

The Lighthouse also offers a number of electric transportation products through the Veelr side of the business.

“I wanted to get into electric vehicles, bikes and cars,” said Mr Swan. It is almost a year since he brought hoverboards to the Island, and although they were slow sellers initially, they quickly became popular. Veelr did a good trade in them during the build up to Christmas, although the shop also suffered two break-ins.

On the horizon this year is a new electric car, called MyCar. This two-seater is expected to sell for around $23,000. The A-class vehicle has a range of up to 65 miles per charge and can be plugged into a normal 110 volt household socket, or a 220v connection.

And Mr Swan is in discussions with a manufacturer of an electric L-class van, which he would like to bring to Bermuda.

He said he was delighted to see The Lighthouse open for business and growing its customer base through word of mouth.

“Our salesman, Bill McKenna, has been bringing in customers, and Margo Lindo runs the shop and keeps things organised.”

The Lighthouse is building its website, which is expected to go live later this month at www.lighthousebda.com.