Perry Field House, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
Materials
University representatives selected LED lighting to replace the outdated metal-halide light fixtures over its indoor turf field. The 100- by 60-yard field is now illuminated by Cree CXB High-Bay LED luminaires, delivering better light quality while providing the university with more than $200,000 in energy and maintenance savings and delivering a payback of less than two years.
The new luminaires contribute immediate benefits to BGSU, including instant-on performance that eliminated the warm-up required with the earlier lights. Previously, the lights would remain on, even when the facility was not in use between events.
Backed by Cree’s 10-year limited warranty, the CXB Series provides one-to-one replacement of up to 400-Watt HID fixtures, cutting energy consumption in half. Its design features a low profile for high-bay applications at half the weight of incumbent technologies.
“The lights were installed over brand-new artificial turf, so we needed an LED fixture with very low maintenance that would eliminate the need to go in with normal lifts moving forward,” explains Dr. Nick Hennessy, BGSU’s sustainability coordinator. “The days of $3,000 maintenance calls with lifts are gone with the use of the Cree CXB Series, and we worked with our utility to secure $8,900 in additional rebates that reduced the payback time to less than two years.”
LED Manufacturer: Cree Inc.
The Retrofit
Since 2012, BGSU has participated in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (PCC), which signifies the university’s pledge to take actions to achieve climate neutrality. As part of PCC, the Student Green Initiative Fund advances the campus’ environmental efforts. Cree’s CXB Series helped the university gain swift approval to use the fund to cover half the project’s cost through rapid payback and emissions reductions.
“The need to upgrade the lighting in Perry Field House was identified in our climate action plan, and we were looking for a solution that would provide exceptional cost savings, reduce our emissions and improve light quality compared to the original system,” Hennessy says. “The Cree CXB Series doubled the foot-candles of the area, decreased our energy usage, and reduced our carbon footprint while improving the lighting quality and performance with rapid payback.”
The coaches, athletes and field-house staff have strict requirements for the facility and are enjoying the better light quality and uniformity, eliminating hot and cool spots.
PHOTOS: Cree Inc.