Cree Lighting

Akropolis Mall is the largest shopping and entertainment centre in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Cree Europe and local engineering solutions company Korgas were brought on board to install a new LED lighting system across the entire outdoor area of the site.

Opportunity

Originally, the site was lit by metal halide and sodium luminaires, with energy consumption levels of 174kW/h contributing to higher energy bills for the shopping centre. Some areas were not illuminated enough after dark, making the space harder for customers to navigate and unsafe.
AKROPOLIS facilities managers wanted to reduce spending on energy and improve the overall sustainability of the shopping centre while making it a more comfortable place for people to do their shopping, even at night.

Solution

Installing a new LED lighting system across the AKROPOLIS site came with a set of complex challenges; the new luminaires needed to be installed on existing structures without any change to the height or location of the fixtures.
Cree Europe and Korgas engineers were therefore tasked with designing a highly bespoke LED lighting system for the entire site using LED lights from Cree Europe’s extensive outdoor and street lighting portfolio.
Working within the infrastructure constraints of the project, it was important to choose versatile LED lights with advanced optical properties and adeguate color rendition which could be easily adapted to any application.
Cree supplied XSP High Output LEDs in the streets surrounding the shopping centre, with high optical control that reduced glare and improved visibility for road users. CPY250 canopy lights were installed in canopies above the entrances to the shopping mall to increase safety and visibility for shoppers after dark, and Edge High Output floodlights were chosen to illuminate open spaces with a crispy vivid, even light.
The direction, colour temperature and level of light emitted from each luminaire was fine-tuned and set on each luminaire depending on their location. This was to optimise visibility and visual comfort for staff and customers across the whole site.

Benefits

This bespoke approach paid off. By selecting specific quality and highly versatile Cree luminaires, the lighting designers were able to reduce the number of lights required for each space. This has improved the look-and-feel of the shopping centre instead of six massive luminaries on each high mast, now there is only two Edge High Output luminaries, with radically improved aesthetic design.

The distribution and uniformity of the light across the site has also been greatly enhanced. Reduced glare has meant more visually comfortable spaces, and new lighting system has greatly improved safety for staff, drivers and customers.

Overall energy consumption has dropped by more than 60% to just 65 kW/h. This has significantly reduced AKROPOLIS' overall running costs and impact on the environment.

Thanks to Cree's 10-year warranty and the low maintenance costs associated with their LED luminaires, AKROPOLIS will continue to reap the benefits of this upgrade for many years to come.

"We've had a lot of positive feedback on the new LED lighting system. The shopping center and the car park are much brighter and more inviting for shoppers and our staff - some of whom often work night shifts. We're also saving energy and costs compared with the old lighting system, so we see the switch to LED lighting as a long-term investment which will deliver rewards for the long-term.
Walking down the asphalt, actually seeing the colors of the cars and reading the window stickers is much easier now...You can definitely see the detail a lot better."

Spoken Person for Akropolis