Car parking at Sydney’s Parramatta City Council gets an attractive LED touch, coupled with substantial energy savings
Objective
The Parramatta City Council in Sydney (Australia) wanted to install new lighting systems in its four multi-level car parking areas, the main administration building and the Parramatta Library. All these sites were the council’s top energy consumers. The four multi-story car parks in the central business district were constructed in the 1980s and are collectively responsible for 11 per cent of the council’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the main aim was to choose better quality lights, which could help save energy and also reduce maintenance costs.
Challenges
In the multi-level car parks, the old fluorescent lighting accounted for most of the energy consumption, as the lights were left on even after shut-down. So, the council asked for the help of local electricians in designing an appropriate system, after conducting an audit.
Solution
While the council members were confused about which company could address its needs, Argyle Electrician Contractors Pvt Ltd suggested Chameleon LED lights for the car park.
Installing these lights resulted in tremendous savings at the car parks and other buildings. As per the contractor’s suggestion, motion sensors were installed resulting in 33 per cent savings in energy usage. At one particular car park, a control system, sensor and T8 fluorescent lights were installed, which resulted in 50 per cent savings in energy. Overall, the resultant energy savings meant a mere 4.1 year payback period. As the mayor of Parramatta city says, “We were very happy with the energy saving results of the lighting upgrade. On the strength of the car park lighting upgrade results at one site, we have since installed Chameleon lights in all four multi-level car parks, our main administration building and the Parramatta Library.”
