Shopping Center Saves Big With LED Shoeboxes

Posted on by Arkon Power

Shopping Center Saves Big With Shoeboxes

  • High Pressure Sodium Lights Drew Excessive Wattage
  • Replacement With 120-Watt Shoeboxes Saved 74%
  • Project Is Expected to Pay Back in Less Than 3 Years

High pressure sodium bulbs were eating into Loukas Zagaris’ bottom line. With 465-watt fixtures lighting his shopping center, Northgate Plaza in St. Petersburg, Fla., his monthly utility bill was through the roof.

 

Zagaris contacted Archon Power about possible solutions. Archon’s engineering team first considered replacing the HPS lights with the same number of 75-watt designer streetlights, yielding an 84% reduction in energy usage. However, light field studies showed more light output would be necessary for adequate visibility and security.The team settled on 120-watt shoeboxes, reducing the shopping center’s wattage draw by 74%. Based on the center’s annual energy usage, the team estimated the new lights would pay for themselves in less than three years.

 

“Archon Power worked hard to find the ideal solution for my shopping center,” Zagaris said. “Now we’re getting better light than before for much, much less. And the Archon team couldn’t have been easier to deal with.” Zagaris said the increased light was particularly beneficial because it didn’t require additional light poles, which would have increased the cost of the project and been unsightly. He indicated feedback from Northgate Plaza tenants has been positive, as they are now getting the exposure and security they require for their businesses.

 

TECH TIP OF THE MONTH:
HANDLING LED HEAT

The heat is on, and LED manufacturers have to do something about it. All electronic components generate heat, and effective heat dissipation technologies are required to ensure proper LED operation and fully-rated life. 

 

The IESNA recently published the inaugural edition of LM-80—the Approved Method for Measuring Lumen Maintenance of LED Light Sources, which specifies the precise methods LED manufacturers must use to reliably evaluate the lumen depreciation of LEDs over a fixed time period. Cree, the chip supplier for many of Archon Power’s LEDs, uses LM-80 methodology to verify that their products will provide 70% of initial lumens for at least 50,000 hours.

 

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