Though LED lights installed in Leverone Field House last summer have not yet reached their target of reducing energy levels by 70 to 85 percent, levels have decreased significantly since installation, energy program manager Stephen Shadford said. The lights come as part of a larger ongoing effort to reduce energy consumption at the College, he said.
“The energy input is way less than before, and the lighting output is greater,” Shadford said.
Lighting is the largest energy input for Leverone, followed by heating and air conditioning for the field house.
The Neukom Digital Arts Leadership and Innovation Lab designed the lighting control interface. The DALI lab created a touch screen display allowing coaches to personally choose the lighting that they require for their practice or event, Shadford said.
Shadford said that there were two primary reasons for planers’ decision to make this change — first, because the original lights in the field house were inefficient, as they were confusing to operate and were arranged in one string of lights, meaning that they could not be individually switched on or off. Second, because officials were waiting for new LED lighting technology to be released.
Vice president of product management at the United States Green Building Council Lisa Stanley said an increasing number of universities are implementing similar initiatives and are motivated by the return on the investment, as they save both money and energy.
The director of programs at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Julian Dautremont-Smith, said that the College’s efforts are part of a larger movement of universities around the country. He cited an agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions that was signed by around 700 institutions.
The new lights are wirelessly controlled and adjustable, and each one is an individual “smart fixture,” as opposed to working as one string of connected lights, Shadford said. These new lights allowed the College to reach National Collegiate Athletics Association standards for lighting. The lights can be dimmed and grouped in any way, which allows them to be adapted for any type of event held in the field house.
He said that this means that lights can be pushed to a high brightness level for tournaments and important events while being run at lower brightness for normal practices.
“The new lights give us tremendous flexibility,” Shadford said.
He said that the planning process at the College always includes more initiatives for reducing energy consumption, adding that around 10 projects are currently in the study or implementation phase, including another lighting project at the Boss Tennis Center.
The tennis facility project, although using a different product than the Leverone lights, is similar and allows the lights to be adjusted on each individual court.
Shadford said that College officials are constantly trying to improve heating and air conditioning around campus as well.
Stanley said that it is important for schools to take steps to reduce their impact and developing these initiatives can provide an opportunity for student involvement and to learn more about becoming energy efficient.
“It is critical for higher education institutions to do whatever they can to reduce their carbon footprint wherever necessary,” Stanley said.
Dautremont-Smith said that these efforts are important in higher education because they teach future leaders about the value of sustainability and saving money.
He said that universities can take their commitment to sustainability a step further by beginning to think about the source of their energy and trying to use more renewable energy.
