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Buy-Low Foods’ focus on value leads to LED lighting • CASE STUDY
August 15, 2017 - Originally founded in 1966, Buy-Low Foods is now the largest food wholesale distributor to independent grocers in Western Canada, serving nearly 1900 wholesale customers through its Associated Grocers and Van-Whole Produce divisions.
August 16, 2017 By Staff
While designing a new store build, and with a focus on value, Buy-Low’s business development coordinator Louie Pulice sought lighting solutions to make the new Langdon, Alta., store as cost-efficient as possible, without sacrificing the shopper experience.
He worked with electrical designer Dan Melchior to develop a lighting plan that would meet Buy-Low’s standards while lowering operation costs.
After conversing with his sales agent, Bryan Lortie from CDm2 Lightworks, Melchior developed his lighting design with, primarily, Cree LED lighting.
Melchior ended up selecting CS18 LED suspended ambient luminaires down the aisles and CR24 LED troffers in the deli/bakery areas and offices. Both products promise 90+ CRI and consistent colour temperatures. WS4 surface ambient luminaires were employed inside the freezers and coolers, and Edge LED high-output area luminaires in the parking lot.
With a lighting plan ready, the next step was to present the plan, product samples, photometric data and the payback analysis (3 years) comparing traditional technology versus LED technology to the Buy-Low development team.
The job got the green light. Wesco was the distributor.
From Melchior’s view, “The quality of light is non-intrusive and the diffusers provide a soft, even distribution down the aisles.”
Bringing in an electrician to Buy-Low Foods stores could cost up to $2000 per visit. With the new lighting (which comes with a 10-year warranty), Buy-Low expects to save $8745 in annual maintenance costs.
“As a designer, it only makes sense with the rising costs of electricity to choose products that will save the owners money in the long term,” Melchior adds, “as well as the inherent cost savings from the maintenance side, which is a huge part of their operating costs.”
“When we built the store and opened it up, there were a lot of comments on how comfortable it was,” Pulice adds.
— With files from Cree Inc. Photos courtesy Cree.
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