The City of Crystal Falls, Michigan retrofitted 40 250W metal halide (MH) decorative teardrop fixtures with Evluma’s 50W LED Clearlight Beacons along Superior Ave in the fall of 2012. And they are currently evaluating the 40W AreaMax for future projects.

With the aid of Midwest distributor Resco, this is the second project that Evluma, an LED lighting manufacturer based in Seattle, WA, has worked on with the City of Crystal Falls.

Dave Graff, City Electric Department Supervisor, chose the Short Beacon to match the burn center of the previous MH bulb in the vintage style fixture. The existing MH bulb could simply be removed and replaced with the Evluma mogul base, direct-screw in LED bulb.

Evluma recommends their 120-277 VAC 50W LED retrofit for those looking to replace up to 175W HID bulbs when evaluating equivalent light output. “Although the 50W Short Beacon did not have the same output as the 250W metal halide, it provides a nice white light comparable to the metal halide in a corridor that was presently over lit. The replacement LEDs provide ample light,” said Mr. Graff.

The City of Crystal Falls, MI has been researching LED lighting as an energy saving alternative since 2010. In 2011, they chose to retrofit 120 100W HPS dusk-till-dawn security lights with Long Clearlight Beacons. The Clearlight was nearly half the cost of a similar wattage LED cobra head fixture. Made in Seattle, WA, the Evluma product also qualified for available ARRA stimulus package funds.
 
Aside from the initial cost challenge, when it came time to retrofit the HPS dusk-till-dawn fixtures the biggest concern was public perception. Would people like the look of the new LED lights? “After installing sample Clearlights, it was apparent that the majority of the public liked the whiter LED light as compared to the orange light of the HPS bulbs. The feedback was all positive,” said Dave.

The City of Crystal Falls is currently evaluating Evluma’s recently announced, premier luminaire, the 40W AreaMax for area and security lighting. “The AreaMax is a great alternative to the traditional dusk-till-dawn fixture for those with new construction and lighting projects, or for those who wish to replace their old fixture altogether,” said Keith Miller, President and CEO of Evluma. The AreaMax also features a Photocontrol Failsafe Mode that further reduces the limited maintenance required by LED products.