It’s not unusual for us to meet people who are amazed that our fixtures can produce powerful light and save energy at the same time.

Take Mark Gonzales, Chief Engineer for Lakeside Towers Condo Association in Chicago, IL. He was looking to replace the lighting in Lakeside Towers’ parking garage with more energy-efficient fixtures. We first met Mark after he called our partners at Midwest Industrial Lighting for help. Midwest Industrial Lighting Technician Kevin Noonan suggested a retrofit using our VTG 2 lamp F32T8 fixtures with an enhanced aluminum reflector.

Mark was skeptical – he didn’t think the [P2] fixtures would be able to produce as much light as the garage’s current ones – 175 watt metal halide lamps in surface mount fixtures. But, Kevin was recommending it so Mark decided to take his advice. “I bought a sample, installed it and fell in love with it,” Mark said.

Before the retrofit, the garage’s fixtures, including ballasts, were pulling about 214 watts of energy per fixture. Midwest Industrial Lighting replaced each of the metal halide fixtures with our F32T8/850 full spectrum bulbs along with the enhanced aluminum reflector. To Mark’s surprise (and delight), the [P2] fixtures produced more light than the old ones and only used 57 watts per fixture.

Once the relighting project was complete, Lakeside Towers began reaping the benefits right away. As an incentive to perform retrofits, ComEd, Lakeside Towers’ electric company, was offering 35 cents per watts reduced. Because Lakeside Towers’ reduced their watts by almost 160 watts per fixture, they received a rebate of over $4,300.

But, the savings won’t end at rebates. The annual energy savings from the new fixtures is predicted to be over $7,500. That means Lakeside Towers will recoup its initial investment in the project in just a year and two months. And, since [P2] fixtures don’t require as much maintenance, the condo association will save over $1,500 in labor costs during the first three years.

Thanks to Kevin and Midwest Industrial Lighting for doing such an impressive retrofit. With the new [P2] fixtures, Lakeside Towers residents will enjoy great lighting and great savings for years to come.

Find out how your facility could benefit from an energy-efficient lighting retrofit. Call our Service Hub at 714-386-5550 today.