There are few places around the world as synonymous with bold, bright lighting as Times Square in New York City. So when the Crowne Plaza Times Square successfully replaced its iconic incandescent marquee with energy efficient compact florescent bulbs, it did more than simply change out bulbs - it demonstrated how far high efficiency lighting has come.

“When people think of Times Square they think of big, larger-than-life lighting and the Crowne Plaza is proud to be part of that tradition,” said Gerry Hughes, Hotel Manager of the Crowne Plaza.  “So before we touched one bulb in our marquee lighting we wanted to be 100% sure that the new CFLs would look as good, be as striking.  And we’re thrilled we can do this using 3/4 less electricity.”

The lighting overhaul had an immediate economic effect.  By replacing the incandescent bulbs in its outdoor marquee with 8W CFLs, the Crowne Plaza generated an annual savings of $120,000 in lowered electricity use plus $20,000 in reduced labor costs thanks to the new bulbs’ longevity.  

“Sometimes green measures can increase costs but in this case replacing old bulbs with CFLs in our marquee sign is saving us $140,000/year,” Hughes said.

The outdoor lighting work was made possible with the help of Con Edison’s Commercial & Industrial Program, designed to assist large businesses that have an average peak demand of more than 100 kilowatt hours make energy efficiency upgrades with rebates and incentives. The hotel received a $13,200 rebate to help defray the cost of the lighting upgrade.

The hotel also upgraded its indoor lighting by swapping out inefficient T12 fluorescent bulbs for new T8s and upgrading fixtures with the support of NYSERDA.

”Some of our other efforts are less visible to guests but equally meaningful in terms of savings and efficiency. By upgrading 2,000 lighting fixtures in the ‘back of the house,’ Crowne Plaza Times Square reduced electricity use by 40%, shaving $80,000 off its energy bill in year one,” Hughes shared.