LED Retrofit Generates Energy Savings for South Shore Retail Complex

July 12, 2020

Located in Longueil, a short drive from downtown Montreal, Carrefour Saint-Hubert features a variety of retail tenants including Jean Coutu, Super C, Dollarama, and the SAQ. The 165,600 sq.ft. complex offers the growing community ample parking to meet their shopping needs. The property operators, First Capital REIT (FCR), decided it was time to upgrade the exterior lighting system to LED. For this project, FCR awarded the contract to Concept Illumination.

“Concept Illumination has worked on a few projects across different FCR properties,” says Pascale Hebert, property manager for First Capital REIT. “Therefore, when it was decided to do a retrofit of our lampposts to LED for energy savings, we approached Concept Illumination and invited them to tender. On top of being warmly recommended, they had a just price and a good quality product, so the project was awarded to them.”

The project included the removal of 30 fixtures, including 24 1000W metal halide luminaires on 30 ft. poles and six 400W metal halide luminaires on 20 ft. poles. Those fixtures were replaced with a combination of 320W and 240W fixtures used on the 30 ft. poles, and 200W fixtures used on the 20 ft. poles. A variety of light distributions were used to ensure the parking lot was uniformly lit and that the light was being directed to where it was needed.

“Some of the challenges here were using a fixture that was high-performance and high-quality, but also making sure it was justifiable relative to energy and maintenance savings,” explains Daniel Herz, who managed the project for Concept Illumination.

Concept Illumination offered a turn-key solution for the retrofit, specifying the materials, overseeing the installation, and taking care of the paperwork for the available Hydro Québec rebate.

The installation was performed over the course of three days. Major considerations for the project included ensuring the parking lot was brightly lit for safety and visibility; and ensuring there was no light trespass on neighbouring properties.

“There’s residential around the mall, so we wanted to make sure there was no light pouring into people’s windows,” Herz explains. “That was definitely a major consideration.”
The old post-top fixtures were removed and new shoebox-style LED fixtures were bolted onto the sides of the poles. New aluminum caps were installed at the top of the pole to protect the structure and wiring from the elements. The finish of the new LED fixtures and caps was matched to the existing poles, resulting in a uniform installation.

The retrofit project will result in annual energy savings of 87,000 kWh for First Capital REIT, an annual energy reduction of 69%.