SLC Project 4: Retail Store Smart Lighting

GOAL

To upgrade lighting in a Salvation Army Thrift Store and maximize energy savings

BEFORE

The Thrift Store operated by Salvation Army in the City of Yellowknife, NWT, Canada is lit by 30* pieces of 4-tube T8 fluorescent lights.

*Note: After successful completion of this project, the Salvation Army ordered another 250 SLCs in the Phase 2 of the project for all their Thrift Stores and offices in Yellowknife, increasing the total installed number to 280 SLCs.

Problems:

a) All lights are turned ON during store operating hours, regardless of visitor traffic. In periods of the day when there are few visitors, a large amount of lighting energy is wasted.

b) Electricity is a scarce and expensive resource in the North. It is often generated by diesel generators and every wasted watt contributes to climate change.

c) The short fluorescent tube life means frequent need to replace burnt out tubes, which constitute hazardous waste due to their mercury content. Waste processing is also very expensive in the North.

d) Being a charity, the less the Thrift Store pays for electricity, the more money will go towards helping the needy.

Fixture Type:	4-Tube, 4-ft T8, 32W per tube with magnetic ballast
Number of Fixtures	30 – Total lighting power= 30 x 32 x 4 = 3.84kW
Operating hours:	10am to 6pm, Mon to Sat = 2800 hours per year
Annual Electric Bill:	Energy=3.84 x 2800 = 10752 kWh Rate @ $0.35/kWh => 10752*0.35 = $3800 per year

(Click any picture to enlarge)

Original 2-ft x 4-ft T8fluorescent lights.

AFTER

All the fluorescent fixtures in the store were converted to Smart LED lights using the Alec SLCs. Each 2-strip SLC outputs higher quality, brighter light than the 4 fluorescent tubes that it replaced. A light is brightened to 100% only when an occupant is in the zone that it covers, providing excellent lighting for occupants to view the merchandize.

When no occupant is detected for 15 minutes in the lighting zone covered by a fixture, the new smart LED light will dim down to 10% and save 90% energy. For fixtures near windows, the LED lights will dim proportionally to the amount of daylight received. The SLC’s combined vacancy dimming and daylight harvesting technology results in large energy savings that LED replacement alone could not achieve.

Fixture Type:	Every fixture is converted using a set of SLC-24F50K
Power in DIM mode	4W
Power in Bright Mode	40W
Assumed Space Utilization:	40% (% of time ALL lights are turned ON to full power)
Average Power	= 0.4 x 40 + 0.6 x 4 = 18.4W
Estimated Electric Bill:	Energy= 30 x 18.4 x 2800 = 1546kWh Rate @ $0.35/kWh => 1546 x 0.35 = $540 per year
Total Energy Saving:	86%

After SLC Conversion

Conversion to SLC

Every converted fixture has individual control to minimize energy waste. The store shelves receive superior lighting quality than before.

What users say:

The installer informed that the store employees and maintenance team are very happy with the lighting performance and energy savings.

CONCLUSION

According to our distributor in Yellowknife, Monitor North, the city inspector was extra vigilant in examining every certification that Alec SLC possesses, due to a recent incident caused by other non-certified retrofit products. Once the inspector was satisfied with the SLC the installation was completed within a day. There was no disruption to store operations and they started saving electricity immediately. Even using a conservative estimate that all lights are fully lit 40% of the time, the store is able to save an estimated 86% energy, compared to what the original fluorescents used.

With Alec SLC, the store now owns a brand new Smart LED lighting without having to dispose off perfectly good, bulky fluorescent fixtures. As you may expect, disposal is a huge problem in the North due to its geographical location. SLC even uses less packaging than most other merchandise, making it the most sustainable solution for lighting upgrade applications.

Contact info@aleccontrol.com or call 1-877-874-7527 today to request for more information.