Visible from miles away, auto lots around the country glow like beacons in their quest to attract customers and provide needed security. Auto dealerships necessarily generate tremendous amounts of light, oftentimes using aged lighting systems that consume copious amounts of energy.
Today we are witnessing the greening of an industry: many of our leading auto dealerships are adopting sustainable practices that include more energy-efficient lighting sources, and in the process are finding that they can gain customers, reduce costs, and create positive brand recognition.
Energy is the third-largest overhead expenditure for auto dealers nationwide, therefore curtailing energy costs is one of the most profitable measures a dealership can take to increase efficiency and save money. Lighting alone accounts for 40-50% of total energy consumption, but with recent advances in the industry, lighting retrofits have become an accessible, valuable way for dealerships to cut costs and eliminate waste.
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) began publicly advocating for energy efficiency by endorsing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Challenge in 2006, which encourages members to reduce their energy use by 10%. By doing so, the EPA estimates that the participating 20,000 members would save an annual total of $193 million and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 million tons.
Since NADA endorsed the Energy Star campaign, more than 500 dealers have begun participating. The interest in lighting retrofits continues to grow as the lighting industry evolves and businesses take advantage of the significant savings available.
In the Spring of 2013 one such dealership, OC Infiniti of Westminster Ca., began researching retrofit options. The Metal Halide systems they were using had begun to degrade, causing variations in color and noticeable reductions in light output. Their team of designers and facility executives carefully investigated the many products currently available for exterior and lot lighting retrofits. Following extensive research, and a test install of the CeramaTek® kit from Global Energy & Lighting, the choice was simple. OC Infiniti General Manager Ken Kaiden remarked, “We investigated all options available to us, including fluorescent and LED, and chose the 315W CeramaTek® products for our retrofit. It provided the greatest light output, and highest light quality, with the most energy savings of any of the options presented.”
OC Infiniti replaced their 1,000W Metal Halide systems with fifty-three 315W CeramaTek® kits. Each lamp delivers 50,000+ hours of consistent, uniform light, and an outstanding Color Rendering Index that accentuates color and visibility similar to upgrading from a regular television to high-definition: the increase in clarity is dramatic. CeramaTek® retrofits are done within existing fixtures, requiring only an adaptor to install, thereby saving the dealership the added expense of purchasing new fixtures and keeping the old fixtures from ending up in landfills.
With a remarkable ROI of 1.6 years OC Infiniti has reduced their wattage load by nearly 70%, achieved an annual energy savings of 60%, and reduced their carbon footprint by 113 tons. In this case, OC Infiniti took advantage of Global Energy & Lighting’s GlobalAdvance™ program, which allowed the entire lighting upgrade to be completed with no out-of-pocket costs. General Manager Ken Kaiden writes, “The lots look fantastic with the new lights. Everything is much crisper and sharper, and our cars have never looked better at night. We truly believe the enhanced lighting will help with sales. It’s hard to believe this could be accomplished while still saving almost 70% on our energy consumption.”
Written by Christopher Crawford