Why It's Time To Replace The Metal Halide Fixtures In The Parking Lot
Do You Have A Parking Lot Full Of Metal Halide Fixtures?
If You Do, You Should Be Looking At Energy Efficient Strategies...
Can You Really Reduce Annual Energy Expenses and Annual Maintenance Expenses?
Have you noticed that your utility bill keeps getting higher and higher over time...or maybe you haven't noticed. The increases in your utility bill are done in such small increments that you hardly notice unless you analyze very close.
In one project we have been monitoring for over 2 years, the utility rate has increased by 44%.
One thing is for certain, utility rates are not likely going down anytime soon. Parking lot lighting is often overlooked because at most businesses, there is no one there when the lights are on.
If you haven't looked into upgrading the 400 watt metal halides lighting up your parking lot, you are missing a huge opportunity to save money.
Don't Let All The Energy Efficiency Info Overwhelm You...
Don't let all the technical jargon, spread sheets, and big words fool you. While energy savings is a science.....it's not rocket science.
Example Of A Inefficient School Parking Lot
It is much easier to understand the value of energy efficiency by looking at an example. To show you the benefit that your business could gain, I will show you an example from a school parking lot near my home.
The Facts and Assumptions
The lighting is on a timer and runs all night long. To create a baseline, let's assume the lights are on 11 hrs. per night (Assumption) as an average run time. The fixtures are all 400 watt metal halide (Fact) and I counted 58 heads total (Fact).
You Can Reduce Your Energy Cost By 50%...By Reducing Your Wattage By 50%
For this application we will use a inductive fluorescent light fixture. I like to use these fixtures because of the reduction in wattage and the reduced maintenance required.
- The old wattage for the 400 Watt Metal Halide is 458 Watts.
- The new wattage with the Inductive fixture is 215 Watts.
The fixtures are a 1 for 1 replacement and will actually result in more, better quality light than the existing Metal Halide. Let's do the math to find the savings.
Reducing Watts Reduces Kilowatt Hours by 50%
Old 400 watt metal halide fixtures= 106,188 KWH per year
New induction fluorescent fixtures= 50,067 KWH per year
That's based on 4015 annual hours of usage and a electric rate of .11 per KWH.
50% LESS Kilowatt Hours = 50% Savings...or more
Old 400 watt metal halide fixtures = $11,680 annually to run
New induction fluorescent fixtures = $5507 annually to run
Total annual savings = $6,173
Reduce Maintenance Costs While Reducing Operating Costs
Now let's look at maintenance savings. It definitely fits into the formula because Metal Halide is costly to keep running, especially if it's older.
With a 13,000 - 15,000 hr lamp life, let's assume we have to re lamp every 3 years. I can tell you that's pretty conservative because lamps usually die before then.
Cost to Maintain Existing 400 Watt Metal Halide
58 lamps @ $30 each = $1,740
Lift rental = $300
28 hrs of qualified labor @ $60 per hr = $1,680
Grand total = $3,720.00 *every 3 years*
Cost to Maintain New Fixtures
The new fixtures have 100,000 hour lamp life. That's a bit over 20 years maintenance free. In that period of time you would do roughly 7 re lamp projects at $3,720.00.
That's a life lamp life savings of $26,040.00 or to fit it in our annual savings it averages to $1,240 per year.
It should be mentioned that replacing Metal Halide ballasts were not included in these numbers but would absolutely be needed at some point. So my numbers are probably low.
Final Numbers
So we have:
Annual energy savings = $6,173
Annual maintenance savings = $1,240
Grand total = $7,413 annually
Not to bad for lights that were costing the schools $11,680 per year to run!
Looking Long Term...What Makes Sense?
The life of the Inductive Fluorescent is 20 years, so let's compare costs over the next 20 years for both:
Old Fixture
$11, 680 x 20 Years = $233,600
New Fixture
$5,507 x 20 Years = $110,140
Difference = $123,460 in savings over 20 years....for just 1 parking lot in the school district.
That's it?
Yes, it all boils down to simple wattage reduction and some math.
Hovey Electric helps business owners calculate savings utilizing energy efficient strategies. By creating a photometric layout of a parking lot, the energy efficiency experts at Hovey Electric show you where you can increase the lighting quality, but reduce energy consumption.
We take the guess work out of difficult terminology and calculations to show you ROI, and put the entire package together for your business.
Want To Learn More About Energy Efficiency?
Download our FREE e-Book highlighting all the benefits of energy efficient upgrades for your place of business.
Other Articles You Might Like:
What's Cheaper To Maintain...400W Metal Halide Or T5?
Metal Halide Fixtures:Does A Fixture Use Power With The Bulb Removed?
Metal Halide:The Shocking Truth In The Life Of A Metal Halide Bulb
How To Find The Most Energy Efficient 400 Watt Metal Halide
Energy Efficient Lighting: Inductive Crushes 400 Watt Metal Halide