Multilevel car park light retrofit 'saves' council

When Parramatta Council commissioned an energy audit, it found that three of its four multilevel car parks were in the council’s top 10 energy-using sites. Council commissioned electrical contractors Argyle Electrical to help eliminate this lighting waste.

Traditional fluorescent lighting with simple on/off switches were the principal source of the car parks’ energy consumption, and lights were frequently left on after closure. At one car park, the energy-efficiency activities included installing a C-Bus control system with motion and light sensors, which delivered 33% energy savings without any change of lights. At another car park, a combination of control systems, sensors and T8 fluorescent lights was replaced with T5s, delivering over 50% lighting energy savings.

In the council administration building fire stair, the emergency lighting consisted of one T8 and one T5, as twin T5s could not operate as emergency lighting.

Electrical contractor Argyle Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd proposed the Chamaeleon LED light for the car parks during the lighting upgrade.

Council had previously been notified of the light by its Australian manufacturer, Enlighten Australia, and analysed the project payback calculations before adding the lights to the scope of works.

Single ceiling-mounted 10-chip emergency Chamaeleon lights were installed in the fire stairs, replacing twin 36 W T8 fluorescent tube fittings, operating 24/7 without controls. In total, 173 lights were installed across the four car parks in the car park fire stair areas.

The overall project lighting energy savings were 88%, representing a 4.1-year payback. The payback figure calculation was inclusive of product supply and installation costs, and exclusive of the maintenance savings and the value of potential Energy Savings Certificates generated by the project. Council intends to apply for the creation of the energy-efficiency certificates under the NSW Government, which will deliver a further financial rebate, post-sale.

The energy savings are delivered by the Chamaeleon light’s dual-circuit design. This enables the light to operate on a standby mode, drawing 7-9 W, while the area is unoccupied, increasing to full light output (28-32 W) once a presence is detected via an in-built microwave occupancy sensor. The Chamaeleon’s adjustable in-built microwave sensor settings allow for flexibility in timing and proximity to suit the area of use.

Council’s Lord Mayor, Councillor John Chedid, said, “We were very happy with the energy-savings results of the lighting upgrade. On the strength of the car park lighting upgrade results, we have since installed Chamaeleon lights in all four multilevel car parks, our main administration building and the Parramatta Library.”

Peter Sparke from Argyle Electrical noted, “Having installed the Chamaeleon light in a neighbouring property and being conscious of council’s energy-savings commitment, I coordinated a site visit with council’s sustainability and asset managers. Once the council’s officers had seen the Chamaeleon fittings operating and investigated the power saving and maintenance advantage, the decision was made to proceed.”