Texas facility goes LED for its full-scale retrofit — and couldn’t be happier
The Aerodrome Ice Skating Complex was coming up on its 15-year anniversary — and it was starting to look like it. The ballasts for the lights over the ice were failing on a regular basis. Each individual light, 68 in total, seemed to have a different color based on the age of the light and the ballast. The cost to replace the bulbs and ballasts were starting to take their toll and it was time to look for alternatives.
The staff considered a variety of options, including a metal halide retrofit replacement, high-pressure sodium lights, T5 fluorescent bulbs and the newer LED technology. Due to their power consumption, metal halide and high-pressure sodium lights were ruled out early in the process, and the focus switched to T5s and LEDs. The T5s were bright when first installed but prone to lose clarity over a short period. They produce heat and would need tubes exchanged upon burning out.
After lengthy discussions, the facility decided to bite the bullet and go with LED lighting due to the promise of lower maintenance and operating costs. Research indicated that LEDs run cooler than the T5 and require significantly less maintenance and lower energy consumption.
Constellation Lighting, a worldwide company with a local sales rep, provided tremendous assistance with the lighting project. The first step was to replace the ice lighting with an equivalent number of LED fixtures. To date, the LEDs have been up for more than 10 months, and the customer comments have been extremely positive. The lighting is brighter and spread evenly over the entire ice surface.
But the real benefit is cost savings. Aerodrome Ice Skating Complex sees an approximate savings of 85 percent in energy cost for the lights and they generate virtually no heat, so the compressors run less, too. To minimize the impact on operations (another bottom line savings), the lights were installed at night so the rink did not lose ice time.
Ice Light Stats:
Before & After
The staff decided to continue with its lighting replacement program by exchanging 16 1,000-watt colored spotlights located in each corner (four in each). They were replaced with 12 LED lights (3 in each corner) that give superior color lighting, and instead of using 16,000 watts, the LEDs require only 924 watts, which results in energy savings of 90 percent. As for the lights above the ice, a light that generated heat at a high rate was exchanged for a light generating virtually none.
The next phase was to install the spotlights and a 40-foot truss over the ice. There were 24 spotlights installed with the red, blue-green and amber that work on an MDX system. This was to save cost on annual figure skating shows, which previously required renting a generator, lights and a truss. The decision made by the project team and Constellation Lighting, to use LEDs will result in the system paying for itself over two to three ice shows (it was costing roughly $6,000 per show). The lighting system also can be used throughout the year for public ice skating sessions.
Up next: Security lighting. The first step was replacing the 400-watt wall-pack-mounted lights and installing Constellation’s Saturn 48 LED fixtures which use 70 watts each. Additional LED wall packs were added in areas to benefit the public. The building now has good lighting around the areas where the public congregates.
Constellation Lighting then designed brackets and lighting for the Aerodrome sign, which is 94′ x 30′. It can now be seen from the freeway, providing increased exposure. The sign is lit by four, 48-watt LED fixtures. Five existing 400-watt high-pressure sodium fixtures were removed outside of the building and replaced with 70-watt LED fixtures. Security lighting was improved by adding an additional six LED fixtures, plus four Saturn LED fixates to illuminate the Aerodrome sign. In the end, the outside was equipped with a total of 15 Saturn 72-watt LED lights, and the facility still saved 50 percent on energy over the original five 400-watt high-pressure sodium lights.
The final outdoor phase involved changing the existing lighting of the parking lot. The original lights consisted of two main towers with four 1,000-watt metal halide lights and three single poles with the same type of fixture (11 bulbs total). These lights used 15,000 watts and were exchanged for the same number of LED flood lights that used 1,400 watts. This resulted in savings of 91 percent.
