Solution
The 51,364-square-foot store — opened in November 2012 — features major upgrades to the specialty departments, including floral, produce and bakery. And with the Cree CS18 LED luminaires and CR24™ architectural troffers, the new store features a major upgrade in lighting as well.
Supermarket shopping is a highly visual experience, and it is important for a retailer to show items in their true and most appetizing colors. Powered by Cree TrueWhite® Technology, the CS18 fixtures provide color rendering greater than 90. Ultimately, that means more colorful flowers, redder meats and more appetizing breads.
In selecting a lighting solution, Tops also needed a product that could deliver strong vertical light levels. Merchandisers wanted to keep a spacious feel down each aisle, and required fixtures to be mounted at the established 13’ height above the floor. “Having consistent light levels from top to bottom on the shelf has always been a concern of management,” says Jaszka.
Delivering up to 8,200 lumens, the CS18 luminaire produces light levels unsurpassed in the industry. This allows Tops to use their wattage more efficiently — meaning less power is needed to illuminate every level of the gondolas. Tops also chose the Cree CR24™ troffer to illuminate their pharmacy, rendering colors truer than fluorescents and providing exceptional light levels.
All this translates directly to considerable energy savings, as Tops stores are 24/7 operations. And since Cree luminaires are fully dimmable, supermarkets can benefit from even greater energy savings, especially during hours where they have lower shopper volume or are restocking shelves. Jaszka sums it up: “Not only did the Cree LED lighting product offer us 70 percent energy savings [over the current T5 fluorescent design], but there was no compromise in lighting quality or levels.”