Nov 15 2012
When the new owners of Lexus of South Atlanta assumed operations in June 2011, they quickly pinpointed one of the first things they would change: the outdoor lighting. Shifting gears and opting for an LED system—GE Evolve™ LED Area Lights—has cast a crisp white light on the dealership’s lot and the cars it sells, while cutting energy costs $49,000 a year for the long life of the new LED system.
GE's Evolve LED lighting uses about 77,000 kWhs a year - an 87-percent reduction over the old HID system (600,000 kWhs). (Photo: GE)
“The effectiveness of our old lighting was adequate at best, and once we received the first utility bill, we realized the fixtures were very inefficient, and our electricity costs for outdoor lighting were a major part of our monthly expense,” says Sid Barron, general manager of Lexus of South Atlanta.
Interested in learning more about cost-effective lighting options, Lexus of South Atlanta contacted Georgia Power Company, the dealership’s electrical utility partner.
After performing a comprehensive site analysis, Georgia Power suggested installation of 82 GE Evolve LED Area Lights on 55 poles, distributed to optimize the lighting levels for the facility and to use the existing poles and pole locations.
“We reviewed the options and came up with a system designed around GE’s Evolve LED fixtures that would reduce energy consumption dramatically,” states Joe Cobb of Georgia Power’s Lighting Services Business Unit.
Cobb and his team suggested removal of the existing lighting system, consisting of 138 1,000-watt metal halide fixtures. Lexus of South Atlanta agreed to invest in the new LED lighting, and the entire system was installed by December 2011. Even before installation was complete, customers and employees were already seeing a difference.
“With a car dealership, your facility is essentially your drive-by billboard at night,” Barron explained. “Piquing people’s interest depends upon displaying your millions of dollars of inventory well. We now have much broader and more uniform lighting coverage of our lots, which is helpful from an inventory security standpoint and a display standpoint.”
Aesthetics weren’t the only noticeable difference. Whereas the old HID lighting consumed 596,160 kilowatt hours (kWhs) of electricity a year, the new GE Evolve LED system draws a total of 77,289 kWhs—a nearly 87-percent reduction in electricity use. This equates to a substantial energy cost savings as Lexus of South Atlanta will now spend about $49,000 less for outdoor lighting each year.