Having to stop at a gas station in the middle of the night can make people cringe. The last place you want to refuel at 2 AM is at a dark, gloomy-looking station. Some gas stations have already begun to solve this problem by replacing their fluorescent and metal halide lamps with LEDs. The brighter lights make stations look safer and more inviting. Besides, if gas stations are going to have their lights on all night, wouldn’t they want the most efficient lighting available?

BetaLED’s webpage lists project briefs from seven LED installations at gas stations across the United States. All LED installations showed a considerable amount of energy savings along with owner and customer satisfaction. Owners of Thorntons Inc. in Edgewood, Kentucky, are saving 62% in energy costs and seeing a 30% reduction of carbon emissions when they replaced their 320-watt metal halide lamps with LEDs.  Eric Zoph, Thorntons’ vice president of construction and environmental concerns, was incredibly pleased with the results. “One of the biggest problems faced by owners is how to maintain light levels and make the facility feel inviting without wasting a lot of energy,” Zoph said. “These LED luminaires solve that problem.”

Black Diamond Vista Chevron in Concord, California, also replaced their area, canopy, and security lamps with LEDs. The gas station was originally planning to replace their high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps with 250-watt metal halide lamps, but BetaLED’s products changed their minds. They are seeing a 64% savings on energy costs with the LED lighting. Steve Welge, president of California-based Fillner Construction, is impressed with the optical control of LED lighting. The new fixtures reduce light pollution and are Dark Sky and IDA approved. Welge also said the new lighting allows the gas station to be seen up to four miles away!

We are predicting that both gas stations are seeing an increase in customers and profit after the LED lighting installation. People are more likely to pull into a clean, brightly lit place at night than a dim, dusty gas station. We are hopeful that more gas stations will see the company and customer benefits of LED lighting and make the switch.