News Release

ATLANTA, Mar 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) ("Company"), a market leader in innovative energy-efficient lighting and control solutions, is proud to announce its participation in a sustainability project to relight portions of Hercules, CA using its Holophane(R) brand of luminaires. The Holophane brand has been a recognized leader in high-quality and lowest total cost of ownership lighting solutions for commercial, industrial, and outdoor applications for over 110 years.

Portions of busy Sycamore Avenue and Refugio Valley Road in Hercules, CA were once illuminated with 161 cobra head luminaires with 100-watt high pressure sodium lamps. The City of Hercules retrofit the units with contemporary styled LEDgend(R) Roadway LED luminaires from Holophane, cutting energy usage nearly 40 percent and increasing visibility and safety with uniformly lit streets and roadways. The new luminaires light both two and four-lane sections of roadway lined with homes, community buildings, businesses, restaurants and strip malls. The fixtures also illuminate stretches of parking along the streets, as well as sidewalks, previously plagued by pockets of darkness. Existing poles were used as they were still highly serviceable, saving the city additional investment that would have otherwise been required.

One of the challenges was to provide sufficient illumination levels on the roadway and sidewalks since the poles were spaced 170 feet apart and fixtures were 33 feet above the ground. This challenge was met by the LEDgend Roadway LED luminaires permanent prismatic glass optics that control light distribution and reduce glare. The high quality of light of the LEDgend is specified with Type III wide asymmetric optical distribution and maintains 0.8 average footcandles with a 4:1 maximum to minimum ratio, which is designed to direct the maximum amount light on task.

Light trespass was a concern for a number of houses that back up to the roadway. The LEDgend fixtures' optical control cuts light off at property lines to minimize the illumination that would otherwise spill onto adjacent properties. The luminaires also provide no uplight. With the fixtures' thermal management system and lower junction temperature, LEDgend luminaires are designed for maximum life in ambient environments up to 40C and are equipped with dual drivers and an associated transfer switch design that allow for up to 80,000 hours of virtually maintenance-free operation, or for a period of 18 to 20 years.

"The new LED street lights are not only energy efficient but they appear brighter and provide more uniform lighting, making our roads safer for motorists and pedestrians," said Jose Pacheco, assistant civil engineer for the City of Hercules. "The new fixtures have been installed for a short time and we have already received a lot of positive feedback from the community," Pacheco continued.

The relight project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. "We are thrilled that with the availability of federal grant funds, the City of Hercules is able to move toward more energy-efficient practices," Pacheco said. "In addition to reducing energy costs, the LED light fixtures are designed to last longer, which means we also save in maintenance and replacement costs."

For more information, please visit the Acuity Brands and Holophane websites and Acuity Brands' YouTube Channel. You can also become a fan of Acuity Brands and Holophane on Facebook.

About Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. is a North American market leader and one of the world's leading providers of luminaires, lighting control systems and related products and services with fiscal year 2010 net sales of over $1.6 billion. The Company's lighting and system control product lines include Lithonia Lighting(R), Holophane(R), Peerless(R), Mark Architectural Lighting(TM), Hydrel(R), American Electric Lighting(R), Gotham(R), Carandini(R), RELOC(R), Antique Street Lamps(TM), Tersen(R), Winona Lighting(R), Synergy(R) Lighting Controls, Sensor Switch(R), Lighting Control & Design(TM), ROAM(R) and Sunoptics(TM). Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Acuity Brands employs approximately 6,000 associates and has operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

SOURCE: Acuity Brands, Inc.

Acuity Brands, Inc.
Tom Pierce, 740-587-6189
thomas.pierce@holophane.com
or
Dave Deck, 740-587-6094
DDeck@holophane.com