The iconic Miami Tower is a 47-story office building located in the heart of downtown Miami, Florida, USA. This prestigious address is the home to many of Miami's established and most influential firms. The building with its modern design is famous on the Miami skyline for its color-changing lighting scheme, and has frequently been featured in films and television shows.
To achieve its striking presence in the nighttime sky, Miami Tower previously used hundreds of large 1000 W metal halide fixtures located on the north, northwest, and west façades of the building and in various setbacks on the 13th, 20th, and 31st floors. Additional 400 W metal halide fixtures were also located on the 46th floor. Each time a new color effect was needed, a maintenance crew was hired to change cumbersome and expensive gels. In order to fully light the exterior, building management had to lease air space on neighboring roof decks, where they housed additional lighting fixtures at a cost of $110,000 per year. At a time when people were paying particular attention to sustainable practices, the Tower's inefficient exterior lighting system was becoming a target of criticism.
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the building's management company, knew it was time to investigate a new lighting system that was more energy efficient and would allow the building to keep its visibility on the night skyline. Facility executives tasked Jones Lang LaSalle's Energy and Sustainability Solutions (ESS) experts to seek a better alternative.
A Color Kinetics LED lighting solution was recommended. Not only would the LED lighting solution be more energy efficient, but it would also allow building management to create custom light shows at the push of a button without costly gels or maintenance processes. The new LED lighting system would also allow the building management to house all of the lighting onsite, saving the yearly $110,000 rental fee.
A cost comparison of the new LED system with the current system showed that the total replacement proposal would pay for itself in just over four years — including a savings of almost 92% annually in exterior lighting energy costs. All told, JLL would save almost $260,000 annually in energy, maintenance, and operating costs.
The LED lighting system was unanimously approved by all of the decision makers involved. The 382 metal halide fixtures were replaced with 216 Color Kinetics LED luminaires — 168 ColorReach Powercore luminaires (now specified with
ReachElite) and 48 ColorGraze Powercore luminaires (now specified with
ColorGraze IntelliHue Powercore).
Overall, JLL is very pleased with the new lighting system and its abilities. "Adopting the latest in building technologies is key to achieving greater energy efficiency, reducing our environmental footprint, and reinforcing Miami Tower's position as the premier building on Miami's skyline," said Tom Matese, general manager of Miami Tower. "The new lighting system will also allow us to reflect our civic pride and celebrate events of importance to the community with customized light shows."
