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Car dealer Carl Moyer, founder of Karl Chevrolet, Ankeny, IA, just north of Des Moines, was looking to upgrade the look of his 30-acre dealership but demanded an acceptable return on the investment. As one of the largest single-line Chevrolet dealerships in the United States, Karl Chevrolet is attentive to the look of its lot at night, particularly along the all-important “front row” facing one of the busiest stretches of interstate in the Midwest.
Moyer and his management team knew they wanted to replace the lot’s legacy 1,000W metal-halide (MH) fixtures but needed a proven 1:1 replacement as well as a controls solution that was both affordable and compliant with the local utility’s program requirements to qualify for a custom rebate.
To further increase energy savings, the lighting team elected to use wiSCAPE to create and control the lighting scenes. With wiSCAPE, the controls installation was non-invasive and non-disruptive, allowing engineers to avoid a lengthy wiring process and avoid installing relay panels. The wiSCAPE View software gives facility managers real-time monitoring, instant alarm notifications on faulty lighting equipment, and increased network efficiency and maintenance operations – all from a smartphone or tablet.
The end result – the function of the lights, controls and the ROI – shows Karl Chevrolet in a new light. In the first full month of operation the team saw a $12,500 reduction in energy cost, and that was before wiSCAPE was up and running. The annual energy savings are estimated at $143,465 with a total reduction in energy use of 74% and annual maintenance savings of $11,988. The payback period is 3.8 years and the internal rate of return is 29%.