by Shane Henson — July 5, 2013—Weber State University’s (WSU) installation of General Electric’s (GE) Albeo LED High Bay lighting at the Dee Events Center has been met with resounding cheers for its lighting quality and energy savings, GE recently announced.
Through its contract with the university, GE replaced 100 of the center’s high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting with 80 lighting fixtures within its Albeo ABHX-Series to substantially reduce the facility’s electricity bills. According to GE, the Albeo ABHX-Series uses 70 percent less energy than HID, which are commonly used in recreational centers like Dee Events Center, and is expected to save the university nearly $40,000 each year.
Month after month when the electric bill came for the Dee Events Center, all the university could do was cringe and pay, noted Jacob Cain, the university’s energy and sustainability manager. When assessing a potential energy-saving project, the WSU Energy and Sustainability Office looked at other institutions’ solutions for ideas; however, there were no examples to consider when an analysis of campus energy use revealed that HID lighting at the Dee Events Center was one of the single biggest power hogs. The university is now glad they turned to GE to find a solution.
In addition to the energy savings, Cain is also pleased with the series’ other benefits, he says. The new high-bay lighting provides brighter light with fewer fixtures as compared to HID lighting and increases the ability for special effects because the LEDs instantly illuminate and can be dimmable and adjustable in nine zones throughout the arena. Additionally, the Albeo ABHX-Series LED lighting fixtures significantly diminish maintenance needs in difficult-to-reach areas, including those where swapping bulbs requires special equipment and trained personnel.
