CASE STUDY #1

LAKE MARIAM STORAGE - WINTER HAVEN, FL

“It was gratifying to see the light quality and energy savings achieved with what I had invented. It was everything I was hoping for; keeping my location bright and secure while reducing my energy costs. I’ve enjoyed the benefits of the 78% energy savings, reduction in maintenance, and less than three year payback.”

-William "Bill" Cook, Owner, Lake Mariam Storage

Project Summary
End User Lake Mariam Storage – Winter Haven, FL
Products
  • 78 Single VEE-LITES
  • 9 Double VEE-LITES
Application LED wall packs, security and perimeter lighting for self-storage facility.
Benefits
  • Save 78% on energy costs compared to traditional HID fixtures
  • Reduce carbon emissions
  • Eliminate disposal of mercury found in metal halide and other conventional lighting sources
  • Certified under UL 1598 standards
  • Virtually no maintenance for the life of the application

The U.S. is host to a staggering 52,453 primary self-storage facilities (as of January, 2008). Storage facilities only have a few areas in which they can reduce costs and one of the biggest is energy consumption with relation to site lighting. In addition customers are often drawn to establishments which are well-lit, safe, secure and clean.

When William (Bill) Cook, the owner of Lake Mariam Storage and inventor of the VEE-LITE, started to feel the effects of the shrinking economy, he knew he needed to figure something out quickly. An electrician, “in an earlier life” as he likes to say, he realized there was an opportunity for real savings in energy bills, he just had to find it.

The result of his search is the VEE-LITE.



In May of 2008 the first VEE-LITE’s were installed in his facility. The result was an average 78% reduction in the facilities energy consumption over the next 4 months. (Bill installed solar panels in September of 2008 making the facility completely energy independent.)

Nearly one-quarter of the electricity consumed in the U.S. goes to lighting. Because of advances in technology, LEDs not only have the required intensity for outdoor applications such as roadways and parking lots, but also superior optical control compared to conventional sources of light such as metal halide or high-intensity discharge lights.

The lack of optical control in conventional lighting wastes a lot of light. This is particularly true in the U.S., where an estimated 30 percent of outdoor lighting is projected skyward. LEDs, because of their energy, dollar savings and improved quality of light, have the potential to replace all existing conventional lighting.