Founded in 1991 by the Starkenburg family, Stanwood Self Storage, based in Stanwood, Washington, offers a wide range of affordable storage solutions for both personal and professional needs. Offering 80,000 square feet of rentable space, the six-acre facility’s 500 storage units of all sizes; 50 slots for boats, trailers and RVs; and range of amenities – including gate-controlled access, video surveillance, and availability of moving boxes and locks – are provided with the utmost customer convenience, safety and satisfaction in mind. So when outdated, inefficient exterior area lighting between and around the facility’s 15 storage buildings began creating cost and maintenance issues for facility management and threatened the quality of the service provided to customers, company owner Wade Starkenburg reached out to EnergyLite for the optimal LED solution.
“We were primarily using 175-watt mercury-vapor technology in our 34 outdoor lighting fixtures, but found that the lights weren’t lasting that long, were failing at different times, and were casting different-colored light, from blue to bright white, as they aged,” shared Starkenburg. At the same time, he said, “We keep records of our power consumption, and our power bill for just the two months of December and January of 2013 was nearly $1,100. Lighting consuming most of our energy, I knew we were wasting money.”
Convinced that Stanwood Self Storage could be saving energy and that LED technology was “the wave of the future,” Starkenburg had begun researching LED replacements for the property’s mercury-vapor fixtures four years earlier, but struggled to find models that could be mounted to arms. “Then I found the SecureLite LED fixtures and really liked their features, quality and design,” he said. After working with the EnergyLite team to ensure the fixtures’ suitability for his application, “we tested a few onsite, and I ultimately purchased the 48-watt models to replace all of our mercury-vapor lamps.”
High-performing and energy-efficient replacements for 100-, 150- and 175-watt metal halide and mercury-vapor security lights and street lighting, SecureLite LED Area Lighting fixtures from EnergyLite, a division of PowerSecure International, feature a 100,000-hour life and mount to poles to deliver a powerful Type V “circular” or Type III “forward” pattern of light. Designed with an all-aluminum housing for maximum heat transfer and durability, and delivering 10 to 20 years or more of maintenance-free operation in outdoor temperature conditions ranging from -40°C to 50°C, SecureLite LEDs optimally support dusk-to-dawn applications within a variety of professional and residential settings.
Following installation of the fixtures in May 2014, which Starkenburg completed himself using a Genie® lift, Stanwood Self Storage enjoyed a number of immediate benefits. “SecureLite LEDs definitely gave off more light than our mercury-vapor fixtures and lit our facility perfectly, delivering consistent light with a pleasant color temperature,” he said. By upgrading from the previous 205-watt lamp and ballast system to a 48-watt LED solution, “our power consumption dropped by as much as 65 percent, and our payback period was just over a year, thanks in part to a rebate we were able to secure from our local utility, Snohomish County PUD [Public Utility District],” Starkenburg noted. “In addition, our previous mercury-vapor lamps had lenses with big fixtures, while our compact, new SecureLite LED fixtures have a sleek and modern look, which serves as a nice accent to our buildings.”
Starkenburg was also delighted with the service he received. “The team from EnergyLite was extremely knowledgeable and responsive and went the extra mile for us, even helping to facilitate our rebate process with the utility,” he said. “They really went above and beyond.”
For his family business, dedicated to providing the utmost service to its nearly 500 customers, Starkenburg said that SecureLite LEDs hit the mark. “At night, if people feel comfortable at their storage units, it just makes for happier customers,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s all about comfort, safety and meeting the needs of the customer.”
As for meeting Stanwood Self Storage’s needs, Starkenburg is thrilled with the results of the new lighting system. “SecureLite LEDs are such well-built fixtures, and I have extremely high confidence that they won’t fail me,” he said. “They’re high quality, energy-efficient, aesthetically pleasing and easy to install.”
“For any business owners who want to put money back into their pockets, SecureLite LEDs are the best product I’ve come across – after you buy them, you’ll see quite a savings on your next power bill,” Starkenburg concluded. “I’d highly recommend them to any property owner.”