City of Raleigh and lighting manufacturer move LED City forward
STURTEVANT, Wis., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ — As the dog days of summer continue and heat waves blanket the country, the City of Raleigh, N.C. knows one way to reduce energy usage is through high-efficiency lighting. Raleigh signed an order with Wisconsin-based Beta LED for over 500 high-efficiency LED luminaires for their 365,000 square foot underground parking garage on the campus of their new convention center.
“Being innovative and prudent are two considerations we face on a daily basis,” said Dan Howe, Raleigh Assistant City Manager. “Beta LED’s products enable our city to save taxpayers money, help protect the environment and provide improved lighting — we are excited about this application of LED technology in our city.”
Beta LEDs revolutionary fixtures for general illumination are part of a city-wide LED light conversion initiative, the LED City, originated by Durham, N.C.-based Cree, Inc. a market-leading innovator and manufacturer of semiconductors.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has heralded LEDs as the future of lighting. According to the DOE, LEDs have an extremely long life span when compared to incandescent lighting — in many cases they last 20 times longer. LEDs consume considerably less energy and are clean burning, thus reducing carbon emissions significantly. For example, a typical HID parking garage light fixture with 175-watt metal halide lamp consumes 210 total system watts each. The more energy efficient LED alternative with five light bars only consumes 118 total system watts each with equivalent light levels — providing a 44 percent energy savings.
“We’re very pleased to partner with Raleigh in their LED City initiative,” said Kevin Orth, Beta LED National Sales Manager. “This parking garage was originally designed using traditional light sources and THE EDGE(TM) surpassed the light level and energy use specifications. City engineers and managers clearly recognize the tremendous value LEDs provide Raleigh.”
One of the greatest hurdles in using LEDs for general illumination is maximizing the lumens per watt produced. Traditionally, LED lighting products have been used only for specialty and aesthetic applications, because they didn’t produce the output required for general lighting.
The City of Raleigh estimates that 30 percent of its energy costs are for lighting. The enormous range of lighting needs — including streetlights, parking garage lighting, facility and park lighting offers LEDs an expansive testing ground.
ABOUT THE LED City INITIATIVE
The LED City initiative is a partnership between government and industry to promote the use of new technology that:
— Protects the environment by creating non-polluting sources of light
that do not introduce toxic substances into the environment;
— Reduces energy demand, thus further aiding in protecting the
environment and saving tax revenue;
— Reduces maintenance costs, thus saving more tax dollars;
— Improves light quality in many applications, making public spaces safer
and more appealing; and,
— Supports economic development in an emerging industrial field.About Beta LED
Beta LED, a brand of Beta Lighting, was established to dedicate resources to the emerging use of LED for general illumination. Beta Lighting provides the lighting market with high-quality, specification-grade luminaries for both interior and exterior lighting applications. Headquartered in Sturtevant, Wis., Beta Lighting operates a 450,000 square-foot manufacturing facility and is ISO90001:2000 registered.
Contact:
Kevin Orth Caryn Melton
Beta LED Primum
(262) 884-3132 (414) 765-2311
Kevin_Orth@beta-lighting.com caryn@primumpr.com
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:
Source: Beta LED
