The Problem
Before coming to Commonwealth Energy Group, LLC, their existing lighting system needed an update. They had (198) 400-watt Metal Halide Fixtures that were wall-mounted throughout the ice rinks and basketball courts.
The existing system had started to fail after many years of service. This eventually led to the ice rink incurring increasingly high maintenance costs. The operating expense of the older technology, coupled with the increased demand on the cooling system to combat the heat created by the HID lamps, caused the facility manager to seek out more affordable alternatives. To improve the lighting system and reduce extraneous operating costs, they came to us.
The Solution
Commonwealth Energy Group (CEG) designed and installed an LED lighting system that would work as a 1-for-1 replacement for what they already had. By working with the existing lighting fixtures, we increased existing light levels by approximately 30% and reduced the operating expense by 60% before we even analyzed the fraction of air-cooled savings.
Upon further review, we realized that each of the existing HID fixtures acted as small heaters in the ceiling, causing the refrigeration system to work harder. The new LEDs we installed generated only 20% of the heat created by the original HIDs, thus lowering the cooling cost for the two ice rinks.
CEG negotiated a 10-year Manufacturer’s Warranty on this project, giving the venue many years of maintenance-free operation.