Case Study: Huron
New York, USA
Property Management Group Looks to Improve Efficiency on the Home Front
Huron eliminated a massive amount of maintenance costs while vastly improving light levels across the facility Located in Endicott, NY, Huron is a full-service property management group responsible for the Huron Campus in the Greater Binghamton area. Huron is always striving to improve operations with various energy saving initiatives, stating they’ve “never lost the spirit of innovation” that is their foundation.
Earlier this year, Huron strengthened their commitment to reducing energy consumption by converting interior and exterior lighting in their heating and cooling facility from traditional HID to LED fixtures – the most efficient technology available today. By making the switch to LED technology, Huron eliminated a massive amount of maintenance costs while vastly improving light levels across the facility – creating a truly all-around efficient Huron campus in the process.
Lights are Out… Again
As the historic birthplace of IBM, Huron is responsible for maintaining a level of excellence for their high end clients and rely heavily on technology. The Huron Campus, however, still requires frequent monitoring of all gauges for the heaters and chillers. This means Huron needs a trustworthy and durable light source for their workers to make sure they are reading the gauges correctly – something they were not getting from the installed Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium fixtures.
The failure rate of their existing lighting and the required labor needed to replace these fixtures proved costly and inefficient. The installed MH and HPS fixtures were failing frequently and experienced the continued color shifts and ballast flickering common to traditional HID technology. The boilers and chillers caused fluctuating ambient temperatures that generated high humidity and mist, creating an environment in which the traditional HID lighting could not effectively operate. Improper light levels was also a safety concern for the Huron workers responsible for monitoring the heating and cooling for the facility.
With Huron spending more than $500,000 per month to operate heating and cooling, Huron needed a lighting solution would reduce their maintenance costs while providing the best light levels and color possible for their workers. These are the main reasons why Huron turned to LED technology – the quality of light produced by LED fixtures is exactly what Huron needed to improve work floor safety.
The Distinct and Clear Long-Term Solution
With multiple failures and high maintenance costs, Huron decided it was best to begin searching for an LED lighting solution. Huron knew they needed a fixture that could handle varying ambient temperatures and the continual mist that proved damaging to the installed HPS and Metal Halide fixtures. As a classified area, they also needed fixtures with a solid T-rating, which is the amount of heat created by the electrical wiring on the surface of the fixture. After reviewing several manufacturers and solutions, Huron determined Dialight was the best LED lighting solution for their facility.
After speaking with a representative about Dialight’s LED fixtures, Huron researched the company’s offerings and found the T5 rating of their SafeSite High Bays and wide ambient temperature range to be the ideal solution for their facility.
The installation took place over a period of months and when completed, the results were immediately noticeable. From the exterior lighting in the parking lots (see above) to once dimly lit areas between pipes, Huron was amazed by the crisp and clear white light from Dialight ’s LED fixtures, as well as better color rendering and instant-on capability. With so much equipment in one room, Huron found it almost impossible to do a full conversion.
With Dialight ’s LED fixtures, however, they were closer to this than they thought. For instance, one interior section of the facility contained an area where no light fixture could previously be placed – this meant the workers needed flashlights to read the gauges here. After realizing the low profile and slim form fit of Dialight’s SafeSite Area Lights, Huron was finally able to install a low-lumen area light that turned on at the flick of a switch and there was no longer a need for flashlights.
Before changing their traditional HID fixtures with LED lighting, reading a gauge without a flashlight was difficult. But with the improved color rendering and light levels provided by Dialight’s LED fixtures, Huron’s workers are now able to quickly report pressure levels while easily navigating their way through tight spaces and pipes on the Huron campus – thus carrying out the “Spirit of Innovation” at this historic campus.
Dialight reserves the right to make changes at any time in order to supply the best product possible.