New fixture reduces payback period, opening new markets for Orion

MANITOWOC, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: OESX), a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient retrofit lighting platforms, today announced they have eclipsed the 200 lumens per watt (LPW) barrier with the third generation ISON™ Class LED High Bay fixture (HBIF3) that now delivers over 214 LPW. The third generation ISON™ Class High Bay is the highest performing LED high bay fixture in the industry and increases the performance gap over any of Orion's competition.

"We are extremely proud of this achievement," said John Scribante, chief executive officer of Orion Energy Systems. "Until now, designing an LED high bay fixture that reached 200 lumens per watt had been considered unattainable by the lighting industry and Orion is the first to surpass that barrier at 214 LPW. We are seeing the result of our investments in new product development, including the recruitment of the industry's most talented engineers and designers, and the opening of our innovation hub in the city of Chicago," Scribante continued. "Today, we can say with confidence that anyone buying a competitor's LED high bay product is wasting energy un-necessarily and paying way too much on their electric bill."

The ISON™ Class Gen III High Bay will consume approximately 42% less energy than the average competitor's LED high bay fixture, therefore reducing Orion's customers' utility bills by 42% more than the average competitor's LED high bay fixture.*

When replacing legacy HID products, the savings can be up to 83%. When replacing fluorescent products, the savings can be up to 66%. For example, a typical facility installing 1,000 of the ISON™ Class Gen III High Bays would save over $250,000 a year and more than $2,500,000 in the next decade over the inefficient HID lighting found in the majority of industrial applications.**

These increased efficiencies open entirely new markets for Orion, particularly for those facilities that have shorter hours of operation, lower utility rates, or are replacing fluorescent technology that is already more efficient than HID technology. Also, because of the modularity of the entire ISON™ LED High Bay suite of products, the prior generation Gen 2 ISON^TM High Bay fixture that companies have installed in the past is now upgradable to the 214 LPW efficiency, which provides existing Gen 2 ISON^TM High Bay customers with the opportunity to further enhance their investment in their lighting platform. No other LED high bay lighting fixture in the lighting industry has a lower ten year cost of ownership than the third generation Orion ISON™ Class High Bay.

Orion products are manufactured in Orion's state-of-the-art American manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. "We are proud to keep the manufacturing of our products right here in America providing the highest quality and short lead times," said Scribante. "We recognize the great sacrifices our veterans and their families have made to give us the freedom and the right to work in this country and we think the launch of this American made world class product, right after the Labor Day holiday, is a great opportunity to express our gratitude." Scribante went on to explain that Orion plans to donate a portion of HBIF3 sales between now and December 31, 2016 to organizations that benefit American veterans and their families.

The ISON™ Class High Bay (HBIF3) is the latest edition to the ISON™ LED High Bay suite, which features unprecedented modular platforms with hundreds of options that plug and play with standard electrical connections. The innovative, futureproof modular design of all Orion ISON™ High Bay fixtures require little to no maintenance.

For more information about the latest ISON™ Class High Bay and Orion's suite of energy-efficient LED lighting retrofit products, contact your local electrical distributor or visit www.orionlighting.com.

*Based on average competitor's high bay efficacy of 125 LPW.

**Replacing 1000 HID fixtures at 458 watts consuming .11 cents kWh with 6000 annual operational hours.

About Orion Energy Systems

Orion is one of the leaders in the transformation of commercial and industrial buildings to state-of-the-art energy efficient lighting systems and retrofit lighting solutions. Orion manufactures and markets a cutting edge portfolio of products encompassing LED solid-state lighting and high intensity fluorescent lighting. Many of Orion's nearly 100 granted patents and pending patent applications relate to lighting systems that provide exceptional optical and thermal performance, which drive financial, environmental, and work-space benefits for a wide variety of customers in the retrofit markets.

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Investor Relations Contact:
Bill Hull
Chief Financial Officer
Orion Energy Systems, Inc.
(312) 660-3575
or
Media Relations Contact:
Linda Diedrich
Director, Marketing Communications
Orion Energy Systems, Inc.
(312) 660-3567

Source: Orion Energy Systems

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