LED lighting from Constellation has reduced the operating costs and maintenance requirements for the Lee District RECenter and gymnasium, as part of the Fairfax County Energy Department initiative to reduce energy use.
Low-energy Delta Series LED lights have delivered even illumination across the sports facilities. Proven to improve the sharpness of vision, LEDs transform lighting quality.
The Delta LEDs installed at the Lee District RECenter in 2015 have required ZERO maintenance in five years and counting.
Working with Fairfax County Park Authority and the Fairfax Energy Department, we have significantly reduced the operating costs of the recreation and sports facility.
RECenter and Sports Lighting
Lee District Gymnasium and Sports Center is a multi-use RECenter, providing first-class sports facilities for the local community in Alexandria, VA.
The center offers a range of activities including gyms, fitness classes, swimming pools, basketball courts, and ice skating. Lighting is a key part of sports facility design and maintenance. Sports facilities require quality, even lighting to ensure games and fitness activities are conducted safely and fairly.
Using sodium lighting to illuminate activities, a large volume of lighting fixtures were in use across the RECenter facilities. The volume of sodium lights required to provide adequate illumination resulted in high running costs in terms of electricity and a demanding maintenance schedule.
Calling Time on Sodium Lights
All facilities provided by Lee District RECenter were consuming a large quantity of energy to power the sodium lighting – essential to keep users exercising safely and effectively.
When faced with the challenge of reducing operating costs, lighting was a clear objective for Fairfax County Park Authority, who are charged with running and maintaining the center.
Maintaining the original sodium lighting proved to be a time-consuming task. Sodium lights have an expected lifespan of 12,000 to 24,000 hours – little more than 2.5 years – and are notorious for failing due to heat build-up reducing operating efficiency.
The quality of lighting provided by sodium was proving less than satisfactory, with a tendency to flicker during operation. The angle of sodium light coverage produced poor, uneven lighting across sports facilities.
Scoring High with LEDs
LED lighting reduced energy consumption by 50% to deliver sizeable cost savings. Constellation installed its Delta Series LED lights – designed for use in sports facilities – at varying heights within the Lee District RECenter to provide the coverage and headroom required by sports activities.
Using a range of light outputs – including 175w, 200w and 250w – the Delta LEDs produced even light thought out the complex. With a proven ability to increase visual acuity – the sharpness of vision – LED lights deliver superior quality lighting wherever they are installed.
LED technology has an expected lifespan of 100,000 hours – that’s almost 12 years – often running without issue for considerably longer. This means maintenance dramatically reduces, leaving staff to focus on running the sports facilities.
Constellation provides a 5-year warranty with all its LED lights giving peace of mind to Fairfax County Park Authority on a sound investment.
