A New Look for Northbrook

By Randy Reid

Northbrook Park District in Northbrook, IL, was formed in 1927. At that time, the park district encompassed an area of about six square miles, including the village of Northbrook and parts of surrounding unincorporated areas. Since then, the park district has expanded its boundaries with a total of 12 parks offering a variety of amenities and activities, including playgrounds, sports fields, walking paths, picnic areas, and more. For years, the park district’s facilities had been using older H.I.D. lighting technology that required high maintenance costs due to burn outs that required constant lamp and ballast changes. When Lead Electric proposed a lighting upgrade, Chris Leiner (Director of Parks and Properties, Northbrook Park District) was all ears—but a bit skeptical.

The proposal outlined a one-for-one replacement that would be easy to install and did not require extra wiring, all while matching and exceeding the existing light levels in each of the park’s areas, resulting in a green initiative that would cut energy costs by more than 50% annually. Chris and his team at Northbrook Park District were genuinely concerned – throughout the years, their experience with the existing lighting was frustrating to say the least, requiring an ongoing schedule to replace lamps and ballasts that randomly failed across all the parks. To dispel any doubts, the Lead Electric team asked for a multi-step approach to the project to show proof of concept: retrofit a small section of the property first, then proceed with the larger scope. The test site turned out to be a small Golf Maintenance facility that had components of everything that would be a part of the larger project. Northbrook Park District were very impressed with the quality of the fixtures used and the light output they produced. The successful test site provided the green light to proceed with eight parks in the district’s portfolio.

The focus of the project was simple: to provide better, more efficient lighting that would literally be maintenance-free and provide greater control. With the savings in energy costs, Northbrook Park District can apply the budget towards upgrading its facilities to provide more for the community.

What Key Fixtures Were Used?

Being an outdoor project, the key fixtures used in the lighting upgrade were stadium lights (for illuminating the athletic fields and other sports areas) and flood/ area lights (to address parking lots, trail areas and skate parks). Lead Electric selected EiKO’s SIG Series stadium lights and their VERT area/flood lights for the job. In total 1,387 stadium lights were installed (a mix of 450W and 600W LED fixtures replacing existing 1500W metal halide fixtures) and 521 flood lights (150W fixtures replacing existing 300W fixtures).

Taking Advantage of Rebates

A key deciding factor for the selection of fixtures was based on the availability of ComEd rebates, specifically for LED fixtures integrated with Networked Lighting Controls (NLC). With a NLC system, each fixture is individually addressable, and users can easily create zones and program multiple lighting control strategies throughout an environment. This means lighting control strategies including continuous dimming, daylight harvesting, individual fixture addressability, high-end trim, occupancy/vacancy sensing, personal control, scheduling, scenes, and zones can all be programmed to suit the needs of a site, providing the most energy-efficient solution. The additional control means key energy savings, and that’s why utility rebates such as those offered by ComEd provide end users with the quickest return on investment. Lead Electric and Northbrook Park District selected EiKO fixtures as they were controls-ready and offered NLC capabilities that fit the requirements of the rebate.

The Techny Prairie Skate Park. Before the retrofit, the skate park was illuminated green – due to mold buildup in the lights.

The Techny Prairie Skate Park. After replacing these fixtures, the park was bathed in clean white light.

Easy Installation

The team at Lead Electric emphasized how easy it was to install the fixtures and program the controls. Adding fixture controllers was done in seconds, using a twist lock installation that doesn’t require you to take apart the entire fixture to wire. When programming, multiple fixtures (nodes) can be queued at one time, making it much quicker to commission. Nodes can even be filtered by range, so the system knows which nodes the installer is in the proximity of, making it very easy to identify and program. Programming controls is known to be an arduous task that can sometimes take days; but on this project, it only required several hours.

The Techny Prairie Activity Center parking lot at night.

The Techny Prairie Activity Center parking lot at night.

The Results

The difference is literally night and day. From the athletic fields to the skateparks and parking lots, every area has improved dramatically, contributing to better visibility, safety, and accuracy during games and practices and enhancing the safety and visibility of pathways and parking areas for visitors. The project not only exceeded the lighting expectations of the Northbrook Park District—it was also a financial success, as Lead Electric helped to leverage the benefits of the available ComEd rebates to deliver a zero-cost project for its customer.

Lynnette Schaeffer, Director of Training at EiKO, discussed the Northbrook Park District retrofit during a learning lab at the NALMCO Spring Seminar.

The Techny Prairie Park turf fields at night before retrofit.

After: The Techny Prairie Park turf fields at night after retrofit.

The Techny Prairie Park turf fields, where 1500W metal halide fixtures were replaced, on a 1:1 basis, with EiKO’s 600W SIG fixtures.

The Techny Prairie Park turf fields, where 1500W metal halide fixtures were replaced, on a 1:1 basis, with EiKO’s 600W SIG fixtures.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Lead Electric – Commercial Energy Efficiency

CONTRACTOR

Duralec – Electrical and Lighting Supplier

EiKO Global, LLC – LED Lighting Manufacturer

ENERGY SAVINGS

PARKING LOTS

BEFORE

31 – 400W MH

$3,597 Annual Energy Costs

AFTER

31 – 150W LED

$1,140 Annual Energy Costs

Annual Energy Savings Year Over Year $2,456

ATHLETIC FIELDS

BEFORE

174 – 1500W MH

$19,010.30 Annual Energy Costs

AFTER

174 – 600W LED

$7,084.58 Annual Energy Costs

Annual Energy Savings Year Over Year $11,925.69