GOAL
To provide higher quality and brighter lighting while using much less energy.
BEFOREThe underground carpark in an apartment building located in the Metro-Vancouver city of Burnaby, BC was illuminated by 23 pieces of 8′ and 4′ T12 linear fluorescent fixtures round the clock. Many of the fluorescent tubes were in various stages of life and had mismatched colors, resulting in uneven and flickered lighting. Residents complained that they felt unsafe in the underlit carpark. The 24/7 operation also meant a frequent need to replace burned out tubes. After learning the benefits of Smart LED which provides brighter lighting on a “when-needed” basis, while saving significant amounts of energy “when-not-needed” (which is most of the time), the residents committee voted to convert the old fixtures to Smart LED using Alec SLC.
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The carpark was dimly lit all day, making some residents feel unsafe.   |
AFTERThe 7pcs of 4′ single lamp FL linear light were converted to Smart LED using 7 sets of 2′ Alec SLC. The 16pcs of 8′ linear light were converted using 16 sets of 4′ SLC. Every fixture is dimmed to 10% brightness (consuming only 2 or 4W power) when there is no occupant in the vicinity of the Smart LED light. When an occupant is detected by the occupancy sensor on each fixture, the corresponding light will brighten up immediately and smoothly to 100% brightness. It then dims down to 10% brightness when no occupant is sensed for 10 minutes. Each light, when brightened to 100% is more than twice as bright as the original T12 fluorescent lamp. Residents are delighted that the carpark is now much brighter than before and yet saves more than 88% of electricity.
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What users say:
“The SLC lights and controls easily replaced our Fluorescent tube lights. The lights and controls attached on the existing light fixtures by magnet. This provided significant saving to us without any interruption of our parking lot flow. The lights were adjusted to dim to 10% brightness when the area is not occupied for 10 mins, and to be in full brightness during usage, which provides us with ongoing savings. After all replacements, we saw our parking lot was completely different. We cheered, as this was the quickest and most cost effective project in our building.” – Ivy (Condo Board Member) |
CONCLUSIONThe conversion of the 23 units of T12 fixtures to Smart LED Lighting cuts down energy usage substantially by 88% , and saves about $1800 in electricity bill per year (based on $0.15/kWh). At the same time, residents are delighted that the carpark is now brightly lit when they enter the space, making the carpark feel much safer than before.  A qualified technician, with the help of the residents committee members, converted all 23 fluorescent fixtures to Smart LED lights in one morning. The total conversion cost of this underground carpark project was < $2500, without using any utility rebates. Payback is < 1.5 years even without rebate. Greater savings will be realized down the road with yearly rising electricity rate. The lights are expected to last much longer than 5 years as the LED lights spend most of their time in dim mode, further saving the unavoidable maintenance cost associated with fully ON lights such as fluorescent or tubular LED lamps. Many other lighting spaces such as stairwells, parkades, corridors, public washrooms etc, would also enjoy equally impressive savings once converted using the Alec Smart LED Conversion kit. Contact info@aleccontrol.com or call 1-877-874-7527 today to request for more information. |