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Military base lighting retrofit reduces energy use, improves post PX
May 19 2010
Saving energy and managing utility bills through lighting upgrades — without compromising the customer experience — is a goal embraced by many retailers. It is also an objective on many military bases, which function as micro communities serving military personnel and their families with retail, business and other services. As a direct customer of BPA, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, (JBLM), formerly the Fort Lewis post and McChord Air Force Base, is working with BPA to reduce consumption and upgrade lighting in all of its base facilities.
Recently, BPA contracted with Light Doctor, a NW TAN trade ally, to implement a lighting retrofit at the JBLM Post Exchange (PX), the base department store. According to Dan Petitt, lighting consultant with Light Doctor, the project’s intent was to improve and increase the overall lighting in the retail store and reduce wattage. Like most retail environments, the PX is open all day and demands good lighting with the proper color rendering to highlight merchandise and create an inviting place to shop.
Led by project manager Francisco Segura Jr., Light Doctor used a kit to retrofit 1400 fixtures from metal halide to induction lighting. By retrofitting a fixture, the trade ally is able to obtain the desired energy savings without creating more waste. “In addition to reducing energy use by 50 percent, the retrofit improved the color rendering index and increased the light level by 20 percent,” said Petitt. “The employees and customers are enjoying the fruits of dramatically improved lighting.” The PX lighting upgrade included retrofitting four gas station canopies with 70,000-hour LEDs. Overall, the retrofit reduced annual energy use at the PX by 698,540 kilowatt hours.
Founded in 1980, Light Doctor is located north of Seattle, Washington, in Mountlake Terrace, and is one of BPA’s largest lighting retrofit contractors. Other projects throughout the Northwest include a lighting upgrade at Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam, lighting retrofits at several substations throughout Washington, and a recently completed retrofit at the Foley Federal Courthouse in Spokane.
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