An energy-efficient lighting retrofit performed by LumaTech at the Eagle Mountain Shopping Center in Batesville, Ark., is saving $42,580 in annual energy and maintenance costs and saw a six-month payback.

Before the lighting retrofit, the shopping center’s parking lot was illuminated with 81 pole-mounted metal halide lamps, each consuming 1,080 watts of electricity. LumaTech selected 375W CeramaTek metal halide lamps as replacements. The new lamps fit directly into the existing fixtures, maintain the parking lot’s average light levels and use 65 percent less energy than the originals.

In addition to the parking lot pole lighting, LumaTech performed a comprehensive retrofit of the shopping center’s other outdoor lighting fixtures with a mix of LED and energy-efficient HID replacements. As a result, the entire outdoor lighting system now uses 65 percent less energy when it’s in use and requires less frequent maintenance.

The retrofit also included the addition of an automated wireless control system. The system uses the shopping center’s precise location to calculate sunset and sunrise times throughout the year to ensure that the lighting automatically comes on at the appropriate time. It also allowed the shopping center’s lighting to be scheduled to automatically turn off at midnight every night, reducing the overall lighting hours by 50 percent.

Rebates available through Entergy Arkansas paid for a significant portion of the project’s initial costs. The entire retrofit project cost just under $84,000, but it was eligible for nearly $63,000 in energy-efficiency rebates. As a result, the project’s $21,000 cost to the facility owner was paid for in energy and maintenance savings in six months.

In addition to energy savings, the retrofit project significantly reduced the shopping center’s lighting maintenance costs. For example, the 81 parking lot lights originally had a 9,000-hour rated life, and were on for about 12 hours a day. The replacements have a 50,000-hour rated life, and are on for about six hours a day, greatly reducing maintenance intervals. The control system also helps to reduce service calls by allowing for the system’s settings to be adjusted remotely.