San Marco Plaza located in Lakewood Ranch Florida was constructed just over 3 years ago. This charming plaza designed around a tall welcoming clock tower in the center of the shopping area is home to several new businesses including shopping, dining, salons, banking and events. However due to its erection in the middle of a hard economy and Real Estate crunch, the businesses in this center have had more than their fair share of burdens in maintaining the beauty of the center. The center itself is illuminated with a large selection of modern lighting fixtures from Hubbell Lighting. Not only is the center architecturally stunning in it design, but the lighting itself is amazing. The fixture selection is comprised of beautiful, ornate acorn style post tops and wall mounted fixtures. Unfortunately because of timing, the lighting selected for this construction project was performed just before major industry changes in Energy Savings and Green Energy Initiatives.

The massive amount of decorative lighting at San Marco Plaza requires a tremendous amount of maintenance compared to other shopping centers. With over 350 outdoor lighting fixtures, on 2 levels of building space, and 67 Parking Lot Lighting Poles, one can only imagine how often light bulbs have to be changed. By June 2010, nearly three years after original construction, nearly all of the 67 Parking Lot Lighting Fixtures had burnt out lamps and was in need of some serious repairs and maintenance. That is when the Board of Directors consulted with Synergy Lighting of Bradenton, Florida to find some alternatives.

The Parking Lot Lighting System

San Marco Plaza was designed with 67 Acorn Style Post Tops mounted on 25 foot fiberglass poles. These single and double headed poles were originally Metal Halide. Standard metal halide was banned from production in 2009 and replaced with Pulse Start Metal Halide which has some great benefits as to warm up time and product life. However the cost operation of Standard Metal Halide or Pulse Start Metal Halide remain high. Synergy Lighting recommended a Retrofit of the existing lighting system to Induction Lighting. Induction Lighting provides the same scotopic levels of light as metal halide while reducing energy waste by over 50%. Unlike the Metal Halide which needed complete replacement within 3 years, the Induction Lighting selected and supplied to San Marco Plaza by Synergy Lighting offers 20 Year Maintenance Free Operation and Resulted in an energy savings for the plaza in excess of $290.00. The light levels of 250 watt Metal Halide in this instance was more than necessary, so the system was reduced to the 85 Watt Induction System with use of Retrofit Kits designed by Synergy Lighting.

Induction Lighting to Metal Halide Comparison

The final result for San Marco Plaza is a maintenance free Parking Lot Lighting system that will pay for itself in less than 24 months and yields a 432% return on investment within 5 years. Labor and Maintenance costs have been reduced by thousands of dollars and lift fees over the next 20 years. The light levels of the induction lighting provide above adequate foot candles throughout the shopping centers 5 acres of parking space. The retrofit kits designed by Synergy Lighting come with a complete 10 year warranty against premature failure or defect.

For more information on Induction Lighting, view our website or call Synergy Lighting for a free consultation.

Phone: (941)-756-4844

Toll Free: (877) 220-5483

e-mail: sales@synergylightingusa.com

The customers experience at night begins in the parking lot, making Parking Lot Lighting the most valuable tool for a business at night. If a parking lot is poorly lit, customers will not stop, park, or shop. When a potential customer or client is considering visiting a store, shopping center or dealership, light can create a great sense of curb appeal attracting potential buyers or shoppers. A Well illuminated facility sends a clear message to customers that your business is open, ready to conduct business, and represents a more inviting, safer place to shop.

Making a good first impression!

Making this first impression a good one is vital to the success of any business. It is human nature to subconsciously be attracted to well illuminated areas, and thus increases traffic flow. Recently we received a call from a National Store Chain that the parking lot lighting was poor and needed to be improved. The concern was that most shoppers at night were female, and the lack of good, bright lighting made the store look unattractive to these potential shoppers. This is not just an assumption. As stores and shopping centers become larger in today’s real estate world, the walking distance from store to car becomes larger. Men have a tendency to not think about safety as much as women, so business owners must cater their lighting to the concerns of most women.

Poorly illuminated areas provide drastically increased potential risks, ranging from theft or purse-snatching to assault, rape, an even kidnapping. Women feel especially at risk walking to their car alone after dark. Few people realize the dangers inherent in this commonplace activity, but the fear alone may prevent potential customers from shopping at stores or centers with lower light levels. The criminal element is more likely to strike in these areas because the lack of Parking Lot Lighting allows the element of surprise and reduced visual acuity and increasing premise liability.

Target Corporation prides itself in offering more for less. Target Corporation operates Target stores, a chain of large, general merchandise discount stores, The company currently operates 1,272 Target stores in 47 states, all of which are required to maintain a pristine, warm atmosphere for shoppers. Target established a corporate policy to maintain standards for light levels for its stores’ main parking, peripheral parking and front drive areas. As part of their store maintenance program, Target periodically evaluates the light levels of each of its store location’s parking lots. That’s why when Target believed its parking lot light levels at a popular location were not meeting its corporate standards, they called in the lighting experts to measure light levels, and take corrective action.

How much light should a parking lot have?

First we must understand that there is no such thing as too much light in a parking lot. Most often we find that retailers do not put a focus on parking lot lighting fixtures due to high costs of repair and energy consumption. There are many alternatives such as LED and Induction lighting that can reduce these costs while providing high levels of light. The Illumination Engineering Society in Partnership with Nema, the Nations leading authorities on parking lot lighting standards, has determined that the most appropriate light level for a business at night is 4.0 foot candles or greater. Local ordinances controlling light pollution may require lower levels, however meeting a maximum light level is most beneficial. This foot candle recommendation is both vertically and horizontally across the plane. Some businesses or centers that just measure light levels directly beneath a light pole may have inadequate lighting across the parking lot.

How can parking lot lighting be improved affordable?

Synergy Lighting offers a wide variety of HID, LED and Induction based lighting products that can improve parking lot lighting design scotopically, without requiring additional expenses of poles and wiring to be added. The human eye responds to brighter whiter light on a scotopic level with increased see-ability or visual acuity. Any of the following tips can improve a lighting system on an affordable basis:

• Convert High Pressure Sodium HID, to Metal Halide
• Use Natural White Lamps whenever possible
• Convert HID to LED or Induction which provides improved see-ability and scotopically rich lighting
• Change older fixture heads to newer heads with type III polished reflectors
• Replace hard mounted fixtures with adjustable angle fixtures

Why use LED or Induction for Parking Lot Lighting

With vast improvements in efficiency and affordability, the LED Parking Lot Lighting and Induction Parking Lot Lighting alternatives are an excellent choice. Both of these options offer over a 50% savings on energy waste while providing some of the brightest white light in today’s market. The ratio of light measured photopically (standard light meter), and scotopically (human eye), this is known as the S/P Ratio. The S/P Ratio for a 5000K natural white light source is 2.1. Standard metal halide light bulbs are 4000K cool white and have a S/P ratio of 1.65.  where as a High Pressure Sodium system has an S/P ratio of 0.64 with the same photopic luminance as metal halide. This means that Metal Halide is twice as effective as HPS, while LED and Induction which are standard at 5000K are three times more effective while reducing electricity costs by 50% or greater.

For more information on Parking Lot Lighting Systems, view our website or call Synergy Lighting for a free consultation.

Phone: (941)-756-4844

Toll Free: (877) 220-5483

e-mail: sales@synergylightingusa.com