Commercial Architecture January 2018 - 41

PROJECT

lighting

'Steeling' Conversion To LED
Pennsylvania steel mill
improves all departments with
lighting upgrades.

n continuous operation since the 1890s, the Sha-

and extended, full-performance product warranty.

ron, PA, steel facility known as NLMK PA is one

"Dialight was hands down our top pick," Stidham

of the oldest steel mills in the United States. The

said. "We especially liked the heavy-duty aspect of

facility is the birthplace of stainless steel, with an

the fixtures, because we needed something that

operational legacy of innovation and a keen eye on

could hold up to the steel-mill environment. This is

meeting the demands of tomorrow. Today, the mas-

where Dialight blew everyone out of the water."

sive 350-acre site serves as a hot-mill reheat, pick-

In addition to durability, light output and visual

ling, and cold-rolling facility whose products ulti-

clarity were also key factors. With a high color-ren-

mately end up in the automotive, construction, pipe

dering index, the Dialight LEDs produced a much

and tube, and heavy-equipment industries.

more natural color, providing a tremendous im-

To keep the operation well-illuminated 24/7, the
facility runs more than 10,000 lights throughout

provement in visibility, particularly for troubleshooting and product-quality inspection.

HELPING YOU
HARNESS THE
POWER OF RAIN

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THE GARDEN ROOF
ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED OVER
20 YEARS AGO,
PROVIDING:
stormwater management solutions
reduce
retain
delay
extended roof longevity

production, warehouse, and inspection areas; in

The lighting company's product portfolio prom-

additional usable space

roadways, waterways, and parking lots; and perime-

ised to streamline supply-chain management, allow-

full assembly warranty

ter security lighting. Just a short time ago, the entire

ing NLMK to source all of its fixtures to suit a wide

facility relied on a mix of conventional HID lights,

range of applications from a single vendor

including high-pressure sodium (HPS) and mercury
vapor, with a few fluorescents in key areas.

Working with Advanced Controls & Distribution, located near Pittsburgh, NLMK placed an ini-

Because of the heavy industrial environment and

tial order of 800 LED high bays for its hot-mill area,

the failure-prone nature of the HID bulbs and fix-

kicking off a full plant-wide conversion now in its

tures, electrical crews were continuously bogged

sixth year. Stidham estimates the facility is roughly

down with lighting maintenance. "If we got two

40% converted to LED, with a total fixture count

years out of the lights, we were happy, but they were

nearing approximately 5,000 in place.

very dim," said Jeff Stidham, facilities maintenance

So far, the plant has already saved at least $50,000

manager at the site. "Changing the bulbs was ex-

annually on maintenance, and Stidham said it could

tremely difficult and required that we take produc-

be perhaps as much as $100,000. The energy savings

tion equipment and cranes offline, which cut severe-

have also been "huge" and the cost is still coming

ly into plant operations."

down as more lights are added. In addition, the

Learn more today at
hydrotechusa.com/power-of-rain

changeover has freed up substantial space in the
A BETTER SOLUTION

storeroom because the plant no longer has to stock-

Determined to find a better solution to reduce the

pile hundreds of bulbs and ballasts for the old, fail-

maintenance costs and the headache, Stidham be-

ure-prone fixtures.

gan investigating LED lighting as an alternative to

"In 2015 alone, we purchased 2,500 lights. We

the conventional HIDs. He invited several compa-

still have a long way to go, but we're already seeing a

nies to come in and run a 6- to 8-month trial with

tremendous cost savings, drop in our kilowatt-hour

test fixtures throughout the plant. Among the many

consumption that could only be attributable to the

products tested, Dialight, Farmingdale, NJ, rose to

new lights, and much less burden on our mainte-

the top, primarily for its rugged, durable fixtures

nance staff," he said. "It used to be that on any given

© 2017 Garden Roof is a registered trademark of American Hydrotech, Inc.
Harness the Power of Rain is a trademark of American Hydrotech, Inc.

CIRCLE 214

http://www.hydrotechusa.com/power-of-rain http://www.hydrotechusa.com/power-of-rain https://www.cdsreportnow.com/bgs/search?CBP0214201801

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture January 2018