Driving by car dealerships at night can sometimes make you feel like it’s still daytime. Even after they close, lights shine down on their cars through the wee hours of the night. Although we recognize that most nighttime lighting at dealerships and auto malls is for security reasons, we hope more car dealerships will turn to LED lighting. The benefits of LED lighting outweigh the costs of operating traditional metal-halide lamps. In these economic times every dollar the car dealerships can save is another dollar that goes directly to the bottom-line! Not only does LED Lighting put profit back into the business, it is a sustainable alternative to energy-hogging and landfill-clogging metal-halide lighting.
A few dealerships have already made the switch. Two Lexus dealerships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, replaced their old lamps with solar LED lamps. Before the full installation, they installed an LED lamp on one pole to measure energy savings. They found the LED lamp was 82% more efficient than existing lamps and continued with the full installation. The LED lamps reduced energy bills by 65%, and the solar panels reduced them by an additional 20%. The dealerships are also expecting to save an extra $3,800 annually on maintenance costs and anticipate a 2-3 year return on investment. The dealerships liked the better quality of light and people coming to the dealerships after dark were able to see the same colors and tints on vehicles as if they were shopping during the day. Euro Motorsports in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, replaced hundreds of 50-watt halogen bulbs in their showrooms with 6-watt LED lamps. This dealership is saving 60% on their lighting bills, along with additional savings on air conditioning (LED lamps don’t give off heat). Since Euro Motorsports specializes in luxury cars, the LED lamps help highlight the features and colors of the exquisite vehicles.
Ford has introduced a Go Green Initiative at three of its dealerships and is planning to make changes at all their dealerships in the future. They have found possible savings of 20% on energy bills using “off the shelf technologies.” We are anxious to see what Ford does to reduce their energy bills, and hope that more car dealerships and auto malls will choose LED lighting.
