Green Garage Lighting

Green Garage Associates recently started a joint venture with LED Saving Solutions (LSS) and Stouch Lighting called Green Garage Lighting. As stated in the press release, this joint venture is seeking to complete LED lighting upgrades in parking garages around the county by utilizing lighting systems manufactured by LED Saving Solutions and installed by Stouch Lighting.

Known for following the standards and guidelines of the Green Parking Council, the Green Garage Associates survey existing parking properties and make recommendations for upgrades with a focus on Return on Investment (ROI) and turn-key execution of the various recommended systems. The company believes that operating on environmentally sustainable choices is a profitable business model that boils down to one action - reducing consumption. This belief in eco-capitalism and the knowledge of the parking business make Green Garage Associates a to go company for parking garages.

Green Garage Associates decided to use LSS' Made in the US LED tube parking garage fixture in the garage upgrades. This product is a high quality LED fixture which will provide better lighting quality and have a longer lifetime than typical parking garages fixtures.  Stouch Lighting was chosen as the installation partner due to their extensive knowledge in the lighting industry and their commitment to providing quality lighting solutions to fit any environment.

You may be wondering why the energy consumption of parking garages is important. Well, due to the amount of energy consumed in parking garages and the number of garages across the country, the energy impact of retrofitting just the lighting in these structures would be significant. Let's follow the numbers:

•     There are about 40,000 Parking Garages in the US, and each one typically has about 200 fixtures. Each fixture typically has a 175 Watt Metal Halide bulb. For security reasons parking garage lights are on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year which means that each fixture runs for 8,760 hours (24 hours X 365 Days). Now multiply the number of operating hours (8,760 hours) times the energy consumed per bulb (175 watts) and that comes to 1,533,000 Watts or 153,300 kilowatt hours (kWh).

•     Considering that the average cost per kWh across the US for commercial electricity is about $0.10 - and rising - at the current average rate, each fixture uses about $153.30 per year of electricity. With 200 fixtures in a typical parking garage the cost of electricity for lighting adds up to approximately $30,660 per structure. Given that the LED bulb that will be installed by LED Saving Solutions to replace the 175W Metal Halide bulb will uses less than 60 watts, the same garage will be able to run on 52,560 kWh or about one third of the electricity. In addition to using less energy, the LED bulbs will also last 80,000 hours which translates to about ten years.

•     This energy savings will translate into financial savings of about $20,000 per garage per year. With 40,000 parking garages in America, the annual savings could exceed well over $800,000,000. Given that 13 lbs of CO2 are prevented from being released into the atmosphere for every dollar saved in commercial energy, the emissions reduction from the lighting upgrades in parking garages alone could exceed 100 billion pounds.

This joint venture is looking to become a one-stop-shop for LED lighting, installation, and financing for owners and managers in the parking industry.  With the first upgrades slated to begin this month in preselected garages, we will be keeping our eyes on this venture as it gains momentum in the parking world.