Lighting revives shopping mall

Inadequate fighting in the parking lot was creating a serious problem for the owners of Fairmount Fair Mall, located in Camillus, N.Y., a suburb of Syracuse. Shoppers were concerned about their cars being broken into. Both pedestrians and drivers said they were made uncomfortable by glare. Neighboring

landowners were complaining about "light trespass." A principal concern was reducing vandalism, especially during the Christmas season when the lot was filled with cars. Convinced that improvements were needed, the mall's manager surveyed shoppers to determine what they liked and disliked about the lighting at Fairmount and other centers they patronized. After analyzing survey responses, management decided to install a new outdoor lighting system that relied on metal halide lamps, combining good colorrendering properties with high efficiency and a relatively long life. Based on the value of energy savings alone, it would have taken more than 100 years for the system to pay for itself. Payback was achieved in months, however, because of High-Benefit Lighting's other contributions.

During the first Christmas under the new lighting, vandalism was almost eliminated. Because the lighting provided such effective security, management was able to reduce security patrols, saving $5,000 per year. The new lighting also permitted faster snow removal in the parking lot, saving another $7,500 per year. Because the lighting also called shoppers' and prospective shoppers' attention to the parking area's improved safety and security, traffic and sales increased, generating $90,000 annually in additional rent for the mall's owners and about $2.5 million in increased sales for retailers.