Popular Texas Hotel Lights Up With LED
Austin, Texas is one of the great party towns of the Southwestern United States. Ask anyone west of the Mississippi River where a good place to hear live music is, and they will tell you without hesitation, Austin, Texas. The city is well known for its live music scene that has introduced generations of TV viewers to it, and all of the genres that it encompasses, through the long running series, Austin City Limits. So it’s only logical that if people flock to Austin to see live bands, they will need a place to stay after the show. Cue the Austin Hilton.
The lobby of the Austin Hilton hotel. Like so many businesses and institutions, the hotel chose to switch to LED lighting because of a number of benefits—longer life per bulb, lower energy requirements, reduced electrical costs, and environmental benefits to name a few.
The Hilton on 4th street adjacent to the Austin Convention Center is a prime choice for tourists looking for a hotel brand they can trust right in the heart of Austin’s downtown district. It is the largest and tallest hotel in Austin and also houses the city’s largest ballroom. Completed in 2003 and named a TripAdvisor 2013 Hotel of Excellence Award, the hotel is a modern marvel with all of the amenities that one would expect, and then some, from a premier hotel in one of the nation’s most tourist-friendly cities.
To complement all of its awesome amenities, the hotel’s management was searching for an energy-efficient upgrade that would also increase quality of light for residents as well as improve the hotel’s aesthetic appeal. They were considering LED lighting but were a bit unsure. They knew that PAR38 LED lamps have a rated life of 40,000 hours, which means they will last three times longer than traditional light bulbs, and that they contain no harmful ultraviolet rays, and reduce heat in areas where they are used in place of traditional light sources.
The project managers had informed them that the Hilton Austin would be able to get a full return on their investment within 18 months. But the choice was a difficult one. The decision to move away from traditional lamp sources and to energy-efficient LEDs was made easier though, when the Hilton team learned of the significant energy savings and reduced maintenance costs that would result from the change from traditional to LED lighting. They could expect to see a savings of up to 85 percent over traditional incandescent and halogen lamps.
There were other benefits too. The new LED lights would provide superior light quality with a variety of color temperatures and distributions. Not only that, they would reach full brightness instantly, handy on many occasions. They even emit up to 70 percent less UV radiation than traditional light sources, so furnishings would stay fresher looking longer.
Then we cannot forget, there are the environmental benefits of using LED lights too. LED lights contain no deadly and dangerous mercury or lead.
During the two-phase project, traditional lamp sources were swapped out in the lobby and coffee shop and were replaced with over 1,000 PAR38s, MR16s and A19s. Guests are happy, management is thrilled and the environment is cared for. Oh, and the power company is crying because the Austin Hilton is spending far, far less on their electric bill this month because of their new LED lighting.
By: Brian Newman
