by Shane Henson — April 30, 2012—Marriott International has made its Bethesda, Maryland headquarters just as well lit and energy efficient as its hotels are working to be through a major retrofit by GE Lighting LED .
Following its corporate campus-wide lighting update provided by GE Lighting LED, Marriott will use 860,000 fewer kilowatt hours (kWhs) of electricity and save more than $120,000 in combined energy and maintenance costs a year, the hotel giant says.
Security and energy savings were top priorities when considering new lighting to cover the nearly 2 million square feet (45 acres) of parking and garage space at Marriott headquarters, says the company.
More than 230 Evolve LED (light-emitting diode) Area Lights now illuminate Marriott’s outdoor lots, while inside the parking deck nearly 400 Evolve LED Garage Light fixtures and several Evolve LED Tunnel Light installations—as well as more efficient GE T8 fluorescent lamps—help light the way for associates to and from the headquarters offices. Collectively, a 280-watt reduction per outdoor lighting fixture is expected to cut electricity use by 580,000 kWhs a year, equating to $70,000 in utility cost savings, says GE.
Marriott also gained the functionality to dim its new garage lighting with GE’s ProSys Lighting Control system incorporating motion sensors. Light output is reduced to 40% while the garage is vacant and adjusts to 100% when motion is detected. Alone, this precise control will produce nearly $11,000 in energy savings (88,000-kWh reduction) each year, stresses GE.
Moving inside Marriott’s eight-floor, 900,000-square-foot headquarters, GE replaced 1,000 65-watt bulbs with 7-watt LED PAR20 lamps in all hallways. The 58-watt difference is expected to mean a nearly $18,000 difference (150,000-kWh savings) in electricity expense over 261 working days.
In the foyer, special scaffolding is needed to reach fixtures in the high ceiling. Marriott would change the lights, which lasted just one to two years on average, only once a year at a cost of close to $3,000. Maintenance savings will now add up after GE replaced 12 90-watt bulbs with 20-watt LED PAR38 lamps. Rated for 50,000 hours of life, GE’s LEDs could keep the scaffolding away for up to seven years.
Meanwhile, in the auditorium, combined halogen and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) lighting was inadequate for Marriott’s advanced dimming system. While the halogen lights could be darkened, the CFLs could not. A total of 140 GE 12-watt LED BR30 lamps improved the functionality of the space, producing a fully dimmable system with higher light levels and more light uniformity in addition to $2,300 in energy savings.
Seventy-two new GE Lumination Recessed LED Troffers were next added to the building’s lower level. When illuminated, the chic and slim 2’x2′ fixtures produce an even glow, says GE. While off, they appear completely free of a light source to blend in with the ceiling, enhancing the elegant aesthetic of Marriott’s employee space, which includes a daycare and cafeteria.
GE also retrofitted the “Marriott” sign at the Bethesda headquarters entrance with Tetra PowerStrip LED lighting, expected to improve maintenance cycles from two to three times per year to once every five to 10 years.
