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Cardinal Pet Care Installs 100% Solar Powered LED Outdoor Lighting For Its Building, Landscape and Parking Lot
AZUSA, CA — – Cardinal Pet Care made national news last November when it transformed its 36,000 square foot Azusa, CA manufacturing center into one of the first 100% solar powered production plants in its industry. Now the company has taken another giant step in reducing its carbon footprint by installing a solar powered outdoor LED lighting system as part of its new 70,000 sq ft distribution center scheduled to open later this year. The LED system lights the building’s exterior, landscaping and sprawling 67,000 square foot parking lot required by code.
As part of the global “10/10/10” campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive carbon emissions, which took place on October 10th, Cardinal president and CEO Tony de Vos “flipped the switch” to activate the LED system on his building and in his facility’s parking lot. Cardinal’s “switch ceremony” was one of 7,347 events that took place in more than 188 countries to reduce carbon emissions. The coordinated events were part of a consciousness raising effort by 350.org, a worldwide organization that is dedicated to reducing global climate change at the grass roots level, so the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere can be lowered to 350 parts per million, which scientists agree is the maximum amount under which human existence van continue. (The carbon dioxide level is currently 388 and rising every year.)
The LED system consists of 120 fixtures from US Architectural/Sun Valley Lighting featuring 139 watt Luxeon LEDs. Supplied by California Lighting Sales, the new LED system saves Cardinal an impressive 8,000 watts of connected lighting load, which equates to approximately .12 Watts per square foot over the energy that would have been consumed if Cardinal had used metal halide pole lighting. Based on this savings, Cardinal expects a return on its green investment in less than three years.
To add to the energy savings of its LED lighting system, Cardinal use reflective concrete to reduce heat absorption in its new parking lot. The black top that was used in the site’s previous parking lot was ground and recycled.
