Upscale neighborhood upgrades to luxurious lighting
Versailles is a luxury gated community located in Wellington, south Florida, USA. It's been called one of America's Best Communities to Live by Home and Garden Television (HGTV). The community's construction was completed in 2006, and features estate homes with a sophisticated French country manor-inspired design. The multi-million dollar half-mile entrance is lined with palm trees, beautiful foliage, and magnificent tiered fountains that come alive at night with landscape lighting.
Although the beautifully lit entryway was inviting, the upkeep and maintenance of the incandescent landscape fixtures was becoming costly. Not only were the fixtures inefficient, but they were constantly breaking or burning out. This constant maintenance resulted in a mismatch of lighting technologies—100 W incandescent, 300 W quartz, and 100 W metal halide fixtures—as well as a mix of fixture types and housing colors. In addition, some of the wiring for the landscape lighting corroded, leaving dark spots.
The homeowners association (HOA) knew it was time to upgrade the existing system to one that was more energy-efficient, and would require less maintenance. The HOA also wanted to have matching luminaires and a more uniform color of light throughout the community.
The HOA called LED Source to help them find a new system. LED Source put together a lighting plan that used Color Kinetics eW Burst Powercore, a high-output, exterior-rated LED spotlight designed for accent and site lighting. The luminaires were used to light the fountains and palm trees. The long useful life of the LED sources would mean less maintenance. The energy-efficiency of the LED lighting technology would also result in a reduced energy bill.
By replacing the previous system with LED luminaires, it is estimated that Versailles will save more than $40,000 in annual maintenance costs and $20,000 in energy costs. The new system also creates a better ambiance and offers better security for the property.
"I wasted thousands of dollars trying to keep up with burnt out bulbs and replacing the damaged previous landscape lights," said Sal Van Casteren, Versailles HOA President. "The compliments we receive about our how our entry way looks at night are never ending. Going with the LED product was one of the best investments this HOA has made in years."
