When Clarence Shields went looking for LED fixtures to replace the 1000-watt metal halide lights in the parking lot of his Blackjacks Roadhouse, he was told they didn’t exist. Instead, he was advised to consider 400-watt metal halides with electronic ballasts, which promised a 35-per-cent energy saving.
Undeterred, the Leduc entrepreneur continued his quest, convinced “there had to be an LED alternative comparable to a 1000-watt fixture.” In mid-2011, he finally found them through a U.S. supplier and immediately ordered two to test against his existing lights. He has since ordered a couple of updated models, which offer the option of easily switching to 400- or 250-watt equivalent LEDs.
“There’s no comparison,” says Shields. “The LED is far superior to the metal halide in light quality and in quickness to turn on. There’s also more light than the metal halide, which after a year is down about 50 per cent.”
The metal halide bulbs usually have to be replaced after a year (with the added expense of hiring someone to do it), while LEDs should last 10 to 15 years. Then there’s the $13,000 a year it costs Shields to power those metal halide parking lot lights, compared with about $2,000 for LEDs. So, while the upfront cost of replacing some 40 parking lot lights is $1,400 per fixture (versus $560 for one metal halide fixture and bulb), Shields figures the payback period will be two years, “which is great.”
If the LED lights perform well in an Alberta winter, Shields plans to replace all the Blackjacks Roadhouse parking lot lights, as well as those at two of his other nearby operations, Airways Country Inn and Airways Parking.
“I’m absolutely the first business around here to do this,” he says. “If these LED lights perform the way I think they will, it would make sense for every hotel in this province with a parking lot to convert, too.”
At the same time, Shields has taken his LED zeal inside Blackjacks Roadhouse, installing dimmable, 25-watt-equivalent lights overlooking the games room and restaurant. These should use 65 per cent less light than their predecessors, for an annual savings of $2,700.
Outside the building, he’s replaced 60-watt metal halide lights with 40-watt halogen fixtures, generating savings of about 25 per cent, or $315 a year.
By The Numbers
| Parking Lot | Interior | Exterior | |
| Type of Light Added | LEDs (replaced 100-watt metal halides) | Dimmable 25-watt-equivalent LEDs | 40-watt halogens (Replaced 60-watt metal halides) |
| Annual Cost Savings | $11,000 | $2,700 | $315 (25 percent annually) |
