Case Histories: Retail Lighting

New Lighting Revives Shopping Mall

Inadequate lighting in the parking lot was creating a serious problem for the owners of Fairmont Fair Mall, a major retail facility located in Camillus, New York, a suburb of Syracuse.

Shoppers were concerned about their cars being broken into. Both pedestrians and drivers said they were being made uncomfortable by glare; neighboring land owners were complaining about “light trespass”.

Convinced that improvements were needed, the mall’s manager conducted a survey among shoppers to determine what they liked and disliked about the lighting at Fairmont and other centers they patronized. After analyzing survey responses, management decided to install a new outdoor lighting system that relied on metal halide lamps, combining good color-rendering properties with high efficiency and relatively long life.

Energy was not a major issue. In fact, based on the value of energy savings alone, it would have taken more than 100 years for the system to have paid for itself. Payback was achieved in months, however, because of the other contributions of High-Benefit Lighting®.

A principal concern was reducing vandalism, especially during the Christmas season when the parking lot was filled with car. During the first Christmas under the new lighting, vandalism was almost eliminated. And because the lighting provided such effective security, management was able to cut back on security patrols, saving $5,000 per year. The new lighting also permitted faster snow removal in the parking lot, saving another $7,500 annually.

Because the lighting also called shoppers’ and prospective shoppers’ attention to the new parking area safety and security, traffic and sales increased, generating $90,000 annually in additional rent for the mall’s owners and about $2.5 million in increased sales for retailers.