Pub. 7 2017 Issue 4

16 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Uftring Dealerships Drive Energy Savings With LED Lighting A t any given time, hundreds of shiny cars, trucks, and SUVs await their newowners at Uftring dealerships throughout the Peoria area. Even after hours, lighting up those four-wheel deals is a non-negotiable cost of doing business. “Lighting is a big expense. It’s important for display and for security,” says Mike Bambrick, General Manager of Uftring Automall in East Peoria. “Our cars are on display 24/7 – and we get traffic all hours of the day or night.” “When the recession hit, we began turning lot lights off around 10:30 p.m. to cut costs,” he says. “It got awfully dark here, and there was a certain amount of risk.” But these days, thanks to a major renovation — and more than $27,000 in incentives from Ameren Illinois — those outdoor lights shine fromdusk to dawn and deliver savings, too. In 2016, the East Peoria automall replaced outdated mercury halide bulbs with high-efficiency LED lights, from the showroom to the outdoor lots. A combination of dimmers and motion sensors keep outdoor lights running at one- third capacity when the lot is unoccupied. However, when a potential customer drives onto the lot, sensors detect the movement and boost lighting to 100% only in the area needed. While the brighter LED bulbs allowed Uftring to reduce the number of outdoor lights, light fixtures were added to the showroom, which had been under- illuminated for years. “In our main Ford showroom, we increased from 18 light fixtures to 50. Now we’re properly lit inside and out,” says Bambrick. “The outside really pops at night now, and it’s brighter in the showroom and better for our employees and for customers.” It’s also better for the bottom line. The new LED lights will save Uftring an estimated $20,000 a year in energy costs. Beyond that, LED lights last up to five times longer than fluorescent lighting. They are also more durable and less likely to break, so they cost less to maintain. “Once, a few years ago, we spent over $5,000 updating new lights, and within a month, some of the lights were out again,” says Bambrick. “The old lights had a bulb, a capacitor, and a ballast. That’s three different parts that can go bad. The new LED lights have fewer moving parts.” And thanks to an electric eye that automatically operates the dusk-to-dawn lights, Bambrick no longer has to spend his valuable time on a timer. “This is a big investment for us, but it makes fiscal sense,” says Bambrick of the six-figure project. “Ameren Illinois incentives were a very important part of our decision.” BY BOB BAUMGARTNER , AMEREN ILLINOIS