Lighting Case Study: Improving Energy Savings by Over $20K at Boston-Logan International Airport Enterprise Rent-A-Car Return Lanes

The Backstory:

Enterprise Rent-a-Car, located at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, reached out to LED Lighting Supply seeking assistance with a lighting upgrade for its parking garage rental car return lanes across two areas. The sections of the garage where the return lanes are located were operating with aged canopy light fixtures, delivering low brightness across the space. Inconsistent, dim light levels create dark spots, among other security threats, in a high-traffic parking garage.

The Customer’s Challenge:

The areas lacked overall brightness across all return lanes, making it difficult to support accurate vehicle inspections and ensure safety for both employees and customers. The return lane areas fell below recommended illumination levels for parking structures, hardly reaching 5 foot-candles (fc) with the existing lighting system. Depending on the size, the recommended numerical calculation of light levels in a parking garage is typically between 5 and 10 fc.

The poor light levels posed several risks and challenges for return lane operation:

• Low lighting levels can lead to missed scratches, dents, and other damage during vehicle inspections
• Different lighting conditions can result in inconsistent damage evaluations across shifts
• Customers may challenge damage claims if they couldn’t clearly see the vehicle's condition upon return
• Customers walking between cars are less visible, especially in tight return lanes
• Bad visibility makes it harder to see curbs, wheel stops, spills, and uneven pavement, leading to trip and fall hazards

The Strategy & Solution:

LED Lighting Supply’s Product Specialist, Joe Hawkins, helped streamline Enterprise’s lighting upgrade by taking the time to understand the specific requirements of the space. He collaborated with the Facilities Specialist, Adam Pollack, to determine the key details needed to make a hand-selected product recommendation for the return lane sites.

By analyzing factors such as fixture mounting height (12 feet), existing layouts (60 x 60 feet), and desired foot-candle levels (at least 10 average), Joe and the LED Lighting Supply team developed a customized lighting plan with a light level rendering designed to enhance visibility while maximizing efficiency. This process ensured the final solution met safety and performance requirements while supporting the facility’s operational goals and long-term cost savings.

The solution involved a direct one-for-one replacement of the old lights with LED high bay UFO lights, all set to 120 Watts. Their existing fixtures were mounted on rods, so a pendant mount was included with each high bay fixture to make installation seamless. Joe’s recommendation improved illumination across the return-lane sites without requiring any wiring or changes to the existing lighting layout's mounting height.

Enterprise Car Rental Lighting Installation Plan Metrics:

• Mounting height: 12 ft
• Fixture Used: LLS-HB-200A-CC-B: 120 / 160 / 200 Watt Adjustable UFO High Bay | 19800 to 33000 | 4000K / 5000K | 100-277V | Clear Lens
• FC achieved: 15.57 FC average
• Uniformity (Avg/Min): 3.71

The Results:

After the new LED high bay lighting was installed, using the lighting plan and product recommendations developed by our team as a guide, both return lane sites surpassed the desired foot-candle level, reaching an average of 20. The return lane sites also have an ideal uniformity rate of 15.00 (Garage A) and 30.05 (Garage B). Uniformity is the ratio of the maximum to the minimum foot-candle values. The old fixtures provided only 6,500 lumens, and the new LED high bay fixtures have a lumen output of 1,9800 lumens.

Before Upgrade

After Upgrade

Following the upgrade, the increased light levels resulted in a brighter, more uniform environment that improved the visibility across the car return lanes. This is essential in parking garage settings, where enhanced lighting increases driver awareness, improves pedestrian visibility, and supports safer navigation throughout the space. Higher light levels also help reduce the risk of accidents, strengthen vehicle inspection security, and create a more comfortable, welcoming space for employees, drivers, and pedestrians.

The lighting replacement positively impacted more than just the brightness levels in the return lanes. The upgrade directly connects to the energy savings the customer will experience. By providing more efficient lighting, the overall energy use across the space will decrease. The car return lanes will save approximately $1,930 in energy costs each year with the new fixtures. In addition, they will save $2,340 in maintenance fees each year. The LED high bay lights have a lifespan of 134,000 hours, compared to only 100,000 hours with the old lights.

Savings and payback the facility will benefit from:

By upgrading to LED high bay fixtures, the facility achieved:

• $4,270 in annual savings and over $20K in 5-year savings
• Improved lumen output from 6500 lumens to 19800 lumens
• Increased product lifespan from 100,000 hours to 134,000 hours
• Brighter light levels across each car return lane area

This case study details how a well-planned approach, combined with the benefits of LED technology, can upgrade an outdated lighting system into a more efficient and cost-effective solution. Through a consultative process and a customized lighting design, LED Lighting Supply provided a solution aligned with the area's specific operational needs.

Customer Relationship:

Through multiple projects, Enterprise Rent-a-Car has consistently achieved strong results in a partnership with LED Lighting Supply, especially in overall operational performance. For organizations focused on worker safety, energy efficiency, and cost management, this strategy highlights the impact of a thoughtfully designed lighting solution.