Bentley University undertook a lighting upgrade of its parking lots as part of an ongoing campus-wide push toward sustainability and chose energy-efficient LED-based lighting from Evolucia (formerly Sunovia Energy). The upgrade from metal-halide (MH) fixtures in the parking lot will save the university more than $24,000 annually in energy costs.
The project on the Bentley campus in Waltham, just west of Boston, MA, included replacing 171 250W MH lights with 110W Evolucia Aimed Optics LED cobrahead fixtures. The new lights deliver almost 63% in energy savings.
"Bentley has really gotten down to business when it comes to retrofitting campus buildings, parking lots and walkways with energy-efficient light sources," said Bernie Farrell, assistant director of facilities operations at Bentley University. "With the addition of this most recent parking lot project, we have cut our energy consumption by 636,972 kWh saving the university $106,724 in energy costs annually. That translates to 439 metric tons of greenhouses gases avoided or the removal of nearly 87 cars from our roadways."
In addition to energy savings, the luminaires precisely control the beam pattern minimizing light pollution while providing uniform light distribution. Manufacturers' representative Lymlight Sales supplied the fixtures and company principal Joe Lyman said, "We brought a sample Evolucia Aimed Optics fixture and tested it in the parking lot. The performance - light color and light distribution - was excellent."
Distributor Standard Electric Supply delivered the lights that were installed by Hobart Electric. NSTAR, the local utility provided a $17,100 rebate.
"This project demonstrates that LED lighting is an economically viable, environmentally beneficial, and a sustainable lighting alternative," said Evolucia CEO, Mel Interiano. Lyman added, "Now, after the installation, a student can walk from one end of the 163 acre campus to the other without ever really being in the dark. Colors pop, cars are easy to find and an already safe campus feels even safer."
