Cleveland landmark cuts lighting energy use in half with Acuity Brands Relight Kits

Aug. 30, 2012
An indoor fluorescent lighting retrofit of 2600 deep-cell parabolic luminaires with 2x4-ft volumetric Relight kits throughout the Rose building’s interior was able to reduce its estimated energy use for lighting by half.

The corporate headquarters of Medical Mutual of Ohio located in the historic Rose Building in Cleveland, OH has undergone an extensive lighting renovation project using the volumetric Relight kits from the Lithonia Lighting, an Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE:AYI) company, to replace 2600 deep-cell parabolic luminaires throughout the 381,000 ft2 Rose building. The change has been estimated to decrease the building’s annual energy use for lighting by more than 50% or from 1.9 million kWh to about 906,000 million kWhr.

The lighting renovation project was completed with minimal work disruption because the RT8R recessed lighting components were easily installed into existing fixtures, eliminating the need to break the ceiling plane. As is the case when upgrading from fluorescent to LED troffers, the Lithonia Lighting’s retrofit kits take advantage of the existing housing and wiring, so upgrades can be performed in as little as 10 minutes per troffer.

Eco Engineering LLC, a provider of energy-efficient lighting services and upgrades, identified and implemented the lighting solution for Medical Mutual of Ohio utilizing the volumetric Relight kits. The energy-efficient Relight assemblies are expected to reduce electrical demand from the onset of installation, including a reduction in the air conditioning load because the new lighting generates less heat. It has been estimated that the building’s total annual energy usage will also decrease by more than 50%, or from 2.5 million kWhr to about 1.2 million kWhr.

“Volumetric Relight kits are an ideal solution for renovating inefficient and outdated lighting systems,” said Kurt Vogel, Lithonia Lighting director of product and market development for Relight. “In addition to providing energy savings, the Relight kits improve the quality of lighting by delivering the ideal amount of soft, comfortable light throughout the space. The visually uncomfortable checker-board or cave effect created by parabolic and lensed troffer systems is completely eliminated.”

Don Green, director of facility services for Medical Mutual of Ohio, stated: “Lithonia Lighting Relight kits offered a cost-effective solution. We saved on labor because there was no need to rewire. The fast installation process also met our needs for minimal disruption to daily operations,” said Green.