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 Crown Hill Automotive Case Study New Lights Improve Safety Crown Hill Automotive Owner/operator Jerry Barkley was never happy about the lighting in his auto repair shop. There were many areas where the increasingly dim and failing lighting had become a safety concern. He thought about installing new fixtures but after attending a small business seminar on lighting and safety, Jerry contacted Tracy Carroll of Efficiency Works! Inc. to discuss improving Crown Hill Automotive's lighting. To solve Jerry's problems, Tracy recommended one very simple and inexpensive change which also happened to be eligible for a rebate from Seattle City Light’s $mart Business [formerly Small Commercial Rebate] Program. Jerry's existing 8-foot magnetically ballasted fluorescent fixtures were converted to 4-foot fixtures with state-of-the-art electronic ballasts. This not only provided more uniform light but when one 4-foot lamp burned out, the others lamps in the fixture would continue burning, unlike the original fixtures. Also, the newer electronic ballasts last twice as long as the older magnetic ones. After the conversion, the change was dramatic. In addition to the employees enjoying higher light levels in their work and surrounding areas, general shop cleanliness improved. "My employees started cleaning up junk that had been previously unseen, plus they found several tools I thought had been lost", said Barkley. "A clean shop is a safer, more professional business. An additional advantage to the brighter and longer burning lights", added Barkley, "was we could keep much fewer shop and office lights on all night for security checks. Thanks to the City program, I could afford a first-rate lighting upgrade". Crown Hill Automotive Case Study Project Information
For complete $mart Business Program information, please e-mail or call: Marilou Trias at marilou.trias@seattle.gov, 206.684.4293 or Charles Valentin at charles.valentin@seattle.gov, 206.684.4215. Program incentives may change based on funding availability. |
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