Case studies

Several years ago, facility managers and commercial property owners identified Parking Lot lights as a major operating expense, not only from an electricity standpoint, but also by way of maintenance costs. Electricity for a typical 400 Watt HID (High Intensity Discharge) Parking lot light costs between $200 and $300 per year if operated dusk to dawn, and when factoring in lamp, ballast, and capacitor replacement, maintenance can easily cost an additional $100 per year. A properly designed LED parking lot fixture can draw 50% to 75% less energy than traditional HID fixtures, and will have an average rated life of 50,000 hours before power supplies require replacement (most power supplies are commercially available). Moreover, HID Parking lot lights dim significantly during the course of their rated life, while a properly designed LED fixture will experience minimal light loss each year – depending upon ambient temperatures, the LEDs in a parking lot fixture can last anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 hours before they reach “L70”, a term used to signify when a light has lost 30% of its initial light output. Again, just like the power supply, recent developments allow end users to switch out and replace LEDs without having to replace the entire fixture – further lowering life-cycle costs.

Groesbeck Truck and Auto Sales intially planned to replace all 16 of its 400 Watt Mercury Vapor Parking Lot Light Fixtures with Lumerica 125W LED Fixtures. Upon installing the first 8 Lumerica fixtures, the even light pattern combined with the clean, fresh look provided by the LED fixtures equalled the effect of the original 16 mercury vapor fixtures.

*Per US Department of Energy Averages