5 minute read
Not Your Average Retrofit
By Randy Reid
The Project that Saved 68% Energy Without Changing the Luminaires, Lamps or Drivers.
A five-story parking garage in Texas, built for 5,000 people, sat mostly unused and dormant, except for a few security guards who patrolled the property. One evening, at the height of the pandemic, there was a crash in the parking garage due to poor lighting. This incident served as a wake-up call for the property owners, who realized that they needed to upgrade the lighting system to ensure the safety of their tenants and guests.
Camelot, the property management group in charge of the garage, tasked Carl Burleson from Mayer Electric with finding the best lighting control solution for the existing structure. Burleson, a seasoned electrician known for his expertise in challenging projects, quickly realized that the existing system, which consisted of over 1,700 fixtures and outdated circuitry, was not up to the task.
Burleson consulted with Shea Parker from Hossley Lighting and Power Solutions to explore the options. They considered several different approaches, but the complexity and cost of rewiring the entire garage to take advantage of the 0-10V dimmable LED fixtures quickly became apparent.
Parker, known for his innovative approach to lighting projects, proposed a wireless lighting control system from Casambi. Casambi's system, which uses nodes that are designed with an astronomical clock, eliminates the need for sensors to dim the lights based on the time of day, thereby simplifying a highly complex situation.
The property owners were skeptical at first, but Parker and Burleson convinced them to give Casambi's system a chance. They demonstrated the system's capabilities, highlighting its simplicity of installation, dimming capabilities, level of customization, ease of use, and ability to remotely troubleshoot, program, and adjust the lights.
After a thorough demonstration, the property owners and Camelot gave the green light to the Casambi system. The 1,700 nodes and one gateway were ordered and arrived within six weeks. Parker and Burleson traveled to the garage to train the electricians on the installation process, which involved simply connecting the leads in the A2D node to the leads in the fixture.
Jordan Mills, RSM, Casambi said, “The original design included zone controllers and motion sensors attempting to create a path of illumination as cars drove through the garage. The intent was to conserve energy and dim the lights behind the cars. With coverage of sensors, each sensor would have been limited to three or four fixtures around that zone to project a traveling pathway. The installation would have been twice as tedious.”
He continued, “Instead, the sensor idea was scrapped in favor of controlling each luminaire together, allowing ultimate controllability of each luminaire, utilizing the time clock features, and, overall, conserving energy in a simpler way.”
Peter Augusta, Casambi’s VP of Sales, added, “To drop the sensors from the equation, they decided to create a day scene with the fixtures on the outside of the garage dimmed and getting brighter per row as they work their way in towards the center of the structure. At night they do the opposite, so the structure looks bright and safe from the outside, saving energy by dimming the interior lights significantly.”
The electricians were initially hesitant, but after the first 100200 nodes, they quickly grasped the mechanics and were able to create an efficient assembly line to install and program each fixture. The installation process went smoothly, and the entire project was completed in under two months, with only two faulty nodes out of 1,700.
Once the installation was complete, Burleson and Parker met with Camelot to assist with the programming of the lights. They wanted to achieve a cascading dimming effect, with the rows of lights on the outermost rim of the garage set at the lowest dimness to conserve energy during daylight hours and incrementally ramp up in brightness as the sun went down.
To their surprise, they discovered that Camelot had already programmed the lights to brighten and dim based on the astronomical clock using the Casambi app. This was an impressive feat, as the app is known for its ease of use and intuitive interface.
The results of the lighting upgrade were remarkable. The garage reduced its electrical load by around 68%, significantly lowering energy costs.
The parking garage project was a testament to the power of innovation. By using a wireless lighting control system, Camelot was able to upgrade the entire system without the need for extensive rewiring, saving time, money, and resources.
Casambi's system proved to be an invaluable tool, providing Camelot with the flexibility and control they needed to create a safe and efficient lighting environment. The ease of installation and programming made it a breeze for the electricians to handle, and the astronomical clock features helped reduce energy consumption even further.
The project serves as an example of how innovative technology can help businesses save money and improve their operations. ■
