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June 27, 2016 — Philips Lighting and the City of Birmingham, Ala., announced a new project to modernize the city’s infrastructure by upgrading the current parking garage lighting to energy-efficient connected LED lighting.
The project is part of Mayor William Bell’s broader “Brighter Birmingham Lighting Plan,” which was designed to increase public safety, enrich the local community, and enhance energy efficiency through strategic improvements to the city’s lighting infrastructure. The parking garage retrofits are estimated to save about $375,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs.
“By continuing to expand the benefits of LED lighting across our streets, highways, and parks and neighborhoods, Birmingham is leading the way, not only to real energy and cost savings, but improving the quality of life provided to our residents and local businesses,” Bell said. “The economic, cultural, and social impact of this project is just the start of Birmingham’s opportunity to reach its full potential as a best-in-class city.”
In total, Philips is installing about 4,500 energy-efficient lighting fixtures across seven different downtown parking garages. The Philips Gardco EcoForm LED site and area luminaires, along with the Philips Gardo G3 LED garage luminaires and Philips DW Vaporlume LEDs, are connected through a system in which they can be wirelessly controlled to modify the length and sensitivity of the lights to accommodate the needs of the city.
The retrofitted garages also feature new, motion-detection sensor technology creating a greater sense of safety by turning up the lights when there is motion in the garage while keeping the lights down when there is no motion, which contributes additional energy savings. In addition, the sensors reduce loitering time in and around the garages.
“Advancements in lighting technology and connected systems have fundamentally changed the way cities operate. Within just five days of the first parking deck being completed, garage attendants reported a noticeable increase in utilization of the facility,” said Stacy Gillen, head of end user sales, Philips Lighting Americas. “Birmingham is a prime example among U.S. cities that are realizing the value that lighting can help bring to communities and constituents alike.”
