Over the years, [P2]‘s energy efficient lighting products have been used to retrofit sports arenas, stadiums and gymnasiums across the nation, from Seattle to Tampa Bay. We've learned that sometimes, even relatively new facilities can benefit from an energy efficient lighting retrofit.

Our latest case in point is in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center is a public tennis facility and a non-profit specializing in youth development.

The center’s building is only eight years old, so the facility manager was surprised when he learned that the center could save over $9,000 a year in lighting costs.

To light its indoor courts, the facility was using 80 fixtures with bulbs that burned about 84,000 watts.

Our partner Budget Lighting designed a solution that involved installing new ballasts and [P2]'s T5 HO hi-bay fluorescent fixtures.

Pre-Retrofit

Post-Retrofit

A little number crunching shows just how much electricity the tennis center has been able to save.

In January 2010, the facility used about 2,163 kilowatt hours per day. After the project was completed, in January 2011, the facility was using 20 percent less energy, which translates to 1,821 kilowatt hours per day. At the current rate of kilowatt hours, that equates to a monetary savings of $7,202 per year in electricity alone.

Then factor in the amount that the facility was spending annually on replacing short-lived bulbs and ballasts, not to mention the labor spent each season just to install them.

The facility estimates its total savings are about $9,552 per year, and the cost of the lighting will pay for itself in two years.

Here’s the takeaway: The new lights are brighter, but they use less electricity. The lighting on the courts has been significantly improved, and staff members have received countless complements from tennis players about the difference. And as everyone knows, having happy customers is always good for business.

“This was our first project with them, and it turned out really well,” said Juliann Johnson, who worked on the project as a Budget Lighting sales representative. “They love em. They are crazy nuts about them.”