Parking Lot Lights should be controlled better. Have you noticed how many parking lots are fully lit even when they are empty because the stores or offices are closed? And have you noticed how many parking lot lights are on at 5pm in the Fall when it is still daylight. These are obvious inefficiencies that can be solved by applying some thinking and technology.
Old manual timers that don't know about sunrise or sunset times or daylight savings time are often set during the Winter. So, they have to come on too early the rest of the year. To work properly in the Summer, they must be manually reset, which often doesn't happen. They also must be reset whenever there is a power outage. This effort also requires building managers to keep track of the lights and visit the buildings to reset them. Technology can solve this problem by using digital controllers that can be programmed for sunrise/sunset and even store hours.
Parking lot lights are also usually wired together in large groups and turned on/off together at a circuit breaker. So, an entire section of lights must be left on even after hours. Technology can solve this problem too. By controlling individual light poles, outlying lights can be selectively turned off after normal business hours. Even when some employees work late, they can park in brightly lit areas while the other parking areas are more dimly lit. Since parking lot lights are big users of electricity, these are huge savings. Technology can offer other benefits too. Property managers can control the lights remotely with their smartphones, for instance. Energy Smart Partners can analyze a buildings' parking requirements and offer an energy efficient lighting plan. There are incentives offered by Utilities that make these changes very cost effective. ROI's are usually less than one year.
