Arkon’s LED Site Lighting fixtures are saving the first of many Sonic Automotive Group dealerships 75% on its power bill.
Arkon LED has launched a relationship with one of the largest car dealership groups in the country, and if the results of the first installation at the Economy Honda Superstore in Chattanooga, Tenn., are any indication, it should be a fruitful, long-running partnership.
“Just looking at the lot’s exterior power consumption, LED lighting is going to save the company more than 75% on their annual power bill,” Arkon’s LED Sales Guy Greg Papandrew said. “Those are industry-leading numbers.”
Sonic Automotive Dealerships, which operates 137 car lots from Maryland to Southern California, is in the planning phases of saving itself that much money nationwide. It chose its Economy Honda Superstore as the first site where Arkon LED could work its magic.
The exterior lighting at the Chatanooga location previously consisted of 108 1,080-watt metal halide shoeboxes and 44 465-watt metal halides. Arkon replaced those fixtures with 108 320-watt LED lights.
“The main challenge was that this was a very large lot requiring maximum pole spacing and adjustable fixtures to allow the most coverage,” Papandrew said. “We were able to replace the high voltage halides with much less energy intensive LEDs and eliminate the mid-power lights altogether.”
At the end of the year, Economy Honda’s exterior power bill is expected to be around $14,000, down from over $60,000 in previous years.
Arkon was also called on to replace Economy Honda’s 18 465-watt and 8 125-watt interior metal halide recessed can lights with 36 60-watt and 9 40-watt LED flat panels. The sleek solution is expected to reduce the company’s interior power consumption from $6,156 to $1,656, another reduction of nearly 75%.
On top of all that savings, Economy Honda received a hefty utility company rebate of $12,536.42 for its energy saving efforts.
“With a car dealership like this, LEDs can save owners so much money, it’s hard to believe they can also get a rebate on top of that,” Papandrew said. “But it’s a reality, and it’s hard to ignore.”
According to Arkon LED Director of Business Development Eleni Lelekis, the company is in the process of finalizing several other projects with Sonic Automotive and is excited to release the details in the near future. For more information on this or any other Arkon LED project, email Info@ArkonPower.com.