Franklin Atrium, a two story office complex in North East Calgary, is uniquely designed around two 10,000 square foot Atriums. The Atriums provide a peaceful environment where staff can hold meetings or take breaks amid lush vegetation, winding paths and tranquil ponds complete with goldfish.
But the Atriums weren’t always a source of relaxation. “The old lighting created a loud buzzing sound that drove staff crazy,” said Patricia Saks, Property Manager with Dundee Realty. The culprits were 400 W metal halides. Saks has since spearheaded a lighting retrofit that involved replacing the noisy bulbs with 216 W 4-lamp high bays. Since completing the upgrade in October 2009, tenants are enjoying the calmer space and some employees have even remarked that the new lighting has had a positive effect on their mood. Saks certainly has something to smile about: her electricity bills have been cut by a whopping $175,000 in 9 months.
The environmental benefits are sizeable too; a lighting assessment revealed that Franklin Atrium will reduce its carbon footprint by 315 metric tonnes over ten years thanks to the retrofit. To anyone considering energy efficient lighting Saks reiterates that it’s a no brainer: “The outlay may seem large at first,” she said “but people don’t realize how quickly they’re going to make their money back.”
