Press Release

For Immediate Release: February 10, 2003

Dollars for Dark Skies

Local Businesses Recover Costs for Upgrading to Dark-Skies Friendly Outdoor Lighting

What does it cost for a Flagstaff area business to upgrade to “dark-skies friendly” outdoor lighting? Not much, as Cinder Hills Boarding Kennel and the Arizona Snowbowl found by participating in the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition’s Million Lumens Campaign.

On Tuesday, February 18th, 2003, representatives of both businesses received checks for the cost of their new lighting fixtures. Cinder Hill owners Al and Valorie Bowman were presented with a check for $1000.00 from the Coalition, and J.R. Murray accepted a check to the Arizona Snowbowl for $906.83.

“We couldn’t be happier with the result,” said Al Bowman. “We were using nearly 7,000 watts of energy with less than desirable results. We are now using only 375 watts of energy and we can actually see our work areas better than with the previous fixtures. The best result of the upgrade is that while we are outside working at night we can now see the starlit skies even with the lights on.”

Arizona Snowbowl General Manager J.R. Murray chose the “Glarebuster,” one of a new generation of fully shielded outdoor lighting fixtures, for its facility on the San Francisco Peaks. “We are happy with the performance, availability and the affordability,” said Murray. “Our lodges now have a much softer light presence without any compromise in safety or security. We have improved out walkways and outdoor stairwells and no longer have light pointed directly into pedestrian’s eyes.”

The Coalition’s Million Lumens Campaign (MLC) offers funding and technical assistance to Flagstaff area business owners of “grandfathered” outdoor lighting systems to upgrade to “dark-skies friendly” lighting. Owners of commercial outdoor lighting installed before the 1989 city and county lighting codes are eligible to participate. MLC receives support from APS and the City of Flagstaff.

The goal of the Campaign is to improve one million lumens of obsolete lighting. A lumen is the unit used to measure light output – a candle produces about 10 lumens, a 100 watt reading lamp about 2000 lumens, and a streetlight as much as 50,000 lumens.

The Dark Skies Coalition begins the process by assisting the owner in making an inventory of current lighting. The owner then determines what would be necessary to bring the lighting into conformance with the current lighting code, either with his own resources or by hiring a designer.

Using this information, APS provides, at no cost, an outdoor energy audit to show energy savings and payback periods. If the owner then decides to complete the upgrade, he becomes an official MLC “partner.” The Coalition reimburses partners up to $1,500 in design costs or $1,000 in hardware costs. The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce recognizes successful partners at its annual banquet.

Commercial owners interested in applying to take advantage of these incentives can e-mail the Coalition or download an application here.