October 1, 2008—The Mall at Rockingham Park, New Hampshire’s largest shopping mall with more than 140 stores, has begun a property-wide lighting system retrofit that will reduce carbon emissions by 885,000 pounds, an amount equivalent to planting 110 acres of trees or taking 77 cars off the road for a year.
Owned by Simon Property Group, the mall will replace or retrofit 4,440 lighting fixtures for an estimated annual energy savings of approximately 575,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), which translates to an estimated combined utility and maintenance savings of up to $100,000 annually.
Elements of the lighting project which focuses on the mall’s common areas include the replacement of incandescent lighting with induction and LED lighting technologies, and the installation of occupancy sensors in restrooms, offices and back corridor areas. The energy-efficiency program will also improve the accuracy, performance, and operability of the mall’s building control system to better manage the mall’s heating and cooling systems’ energy usage.
These lighting improvements deliver multiple benefits, including reduced energy use and carbon emissions, says mall management. They also provide lower operating costs and a more comfortable shopping experience for customers.
With the support of Simon Property Group, The Mall at Rockingham Park is undertaking the efficient-lighting initiative in cooperation with ConEdison Solutions of White Plains, NY, one of the country’s largest energy services companies. Last September, Simon Property Group and ConEdison Solutions announced the execution of an agreement to perform energy-efficiency work at Simon sites throughout the United States.
Nationwide, Simon Property Group has prevented nearly 93,400 metric tons of carbon emissions from being disbursed into the atmosphere between 2003 and 2007, through its energy efficiency practices. For more information, visit the Simon Property Web site.
