CURRENT / PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

With the lighting upgrade, is experiencing a more than 60% reduction in energy consumption, which equates to more than $54,000 in annual energy and maintenance savings and a three-year payback period. IMAGE COURTESY OF ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT/FSG COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE An upgrade to LED lighting and controls by Facility Solutions Group and Current by GE keeps a legendary Indianapolis-based team in the driver’s seat. by Susan Bloom

ASED IN INDIANAPOLIS, AUTO RACING TEAM tion to detail is very important, and lighting affects every- Andretti Autosport competes in the IndyCar Ser- thing,” said Bill White, facility manager at Andretti Auto- ies, , the FIA Champion- sport. “Preparation is the key to success, so the more you Bship, and the Americas Championship. can up your game with preparation, the more successful Launched in 1993 and headed up by Championship Auto you should be.” Racing Teams series champion (son of By 2017, however, lighting in the expansive 12-year-old renowned racing icon Mario Andretti), the group’s success facility—which houses a shop where technicians work on relies on precision, attention to detail, and the ability to vehicles and warehouse/garage space for the storage of maximize every aspect of its vehicles’ performance. So transport trucks, tools, and other necessary equipment— when outdated fluorescent technology threatened to un- was becoming a competitive disadvantage. dermine the quality of light and operational efficiency in “In addition to poor lighting quality and areas that were the shop where Andretti Autosport’s race cars are designed yellow and/or underlit, a lot of the facility’s old 32W T8 and repaired, Facility Solutions Group (FSG) stepped in fluorescent and 54W T5 HO lamps were burning out,” with a powerful and long-lasting solution de signed to keep ex plained Bob Ronan, Perth Amboy, New Jersey-based the team’s engines humming for years to come. director of national sales for FSG. “The team was doing a “As a racing team, car preparation is what we do, atten- lot of ballast replacements, and electricians were spending

20 the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR • Jun. 19 www.tEDmag.com more time on lighting than on their will see a more than 60% reduction Of their working relationship, core job responsibilities. in energy consumption, more than Ronan said, “The Andretti Auto- Introduced to Andretti Autosport $54,000 in annual energy and main- sport team couldn’t have been more through the manager of one of the tenance savings, and a three-year pay- gracious; they really made us feel team’s Indy 500 award-winning rac- back period. like part of their family. In an indus- ers in early 2017, FSG saw immediate In addition, because every fixture try where every second matters, we opportunities to improve the facility’s was equipped with a motion sensor, developed an even greater apprecia- working environment and lower its “Fixtures can dim when there’s no tion for the work they do and their energy spend through an LED and motion and come to full brightness need for precision and maximum control upgrade—and the Andretti when there is, adding an extra level of performance.” Autosport team was intrigued. savings,” noted Brannon Bourland, For their part, the Andretti team “We had more than 500 fixtures FSG’s director of marketing. appreciated FSG’s expertise, hard in the shop and a lot of uneven light- “Andretti Autosport is a highly work, and responsiveness. “Any issue ing as a result of a mix of old and new philanthropic team we had, FSG jumped bulbs,” White explained. “We already that hosts a lot of on it pretty quickly,” had a lighting issue looming that had promotional events Over the White said. to be taken care of, so when the op- for spon sors, military years, Overall, “It feels portunity came to switch over, one of groups, and other lighting great to have deliv- the selling points was that the project organizations and has evolved through ered a system that would pay for it self in the savings.” they love having the incandescent, - will give An dretti Said Ronan, “We partnered with flexibility to dim gen, fluorescent, and Autosport a 10-year, Current by GE on this project based down areas for spe- now LED technology hassle-free life cycle, on the company’s great reputation for cial events,” Ronan and has gotten more enabling them to lumen output and knew that its Albeo added. and more efficient— work more efficiently ABV-series high-bay LED system For White, ease but the other benefits and do what they do would give Andretti Auto sport and its of maintenance— of these advance- best,” said Ronan, roughly 50 employees the light levels thanks to the sys- ments are equally who noted that the and uniform distribution they needed.” tem’s decade-long rewarding. rows of winning ban- In search of even greater efficiency, life—is another big ners lining the facil- “They also wanted to be able to dim or plus. “I wear a lot —BRANNON BOURLAND, ity’s walls now pop Facility Solutions Group turn off lights in zones based on occu- of hats here and the like never before, pancy, so we further integrated sys- less time that I have thanks to the new tems with portable Daintree wireless to worry about lightbulbs burning lighting. “We’re proud to have helped controls,” he added. out is huge; I’ve got other stuff that I solve a problem…that will give them a can worry about now,” he said. “The competitive advantage.” Delivering a Competitive Advantage 10-year lifespan is pretty good be- Bourland agreed. “Over the years, FSG’s in-house specialists not only cause I’m 55 years old. I’ve hopefully lighting has evolved through incan- provided invaluable support to design changed my last lightbulb.” descent, halogen, fluorescent, and and bring six zones online, but also “This system will ensure much now LED technology and has gotten offered careful coordination: “We had lower maintenance, allowing the more and more efficient—but the to work around both people and cars team to focus on more important de- other benefits of these advancements valued at hundreds of thousands of tails, not replacing bulbs,” Ronan ex- are equally rewarding,” he said. “It’s dollars,” Ronan said. plained. Equally attractive to the An- exciting to deliver to the customer Installation was largely completed dretti Autosport team was that the not only a lower-cost lighting solu- within a three- to four-week period project was funded through FSG’s tion, but also a better environment in late 2017, and the Andretti team “Power of Light” financing program. for its em ployees and staff.” n couldn’t be happier. In addition to “They incurred no cash out of pocket cleaner, whiter, and more uniform —the entire project is being paid for Bloom is a 25-year veteran of the lighting lighting that’s improved visual acu- by savings generated from the install,” and electrical products industry. Reach her ity in the space, Andretti Autosport Ronan said. at [email protected].

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