It’s reported that Cree inc. announces that the University of Notre Dame is joining the LED University program, an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs across their campuses.
It’s disclosed that the university is implementing four pilot installations to evaluate the feasibility of LED lighting across the campus. These pilots include LED step lighting from BEGA-USA on the new Irish Green, recessed LED lighting from Cree in the Facilities Building conference room and in the elevator lobby of Hesburgh Library, and outdoor decorative area lights from Sternberg Lighting on central campus.
Notre Dame is realizing energy savings of 81 percent for the library installation compared with the previous incandescent lighting and 50 percent for the outdoor lights compared with the previous metal halide lighting. Considering that the campus lies on 1,250 acres and includes 137 buildings, the potential savings from widespread use of LED lighting are tremendous.
A Facilities Building conference room was completely relit with LED lights, providing dramatically improved light quality and energy savings of approximately 80 percent, compared with the fluorescent troffers and recessed lights that were replaced. The university installed a combination of energy-efficient Cree LR6 and LR4 recessed lights and the new LR24 two-foot by two-foot LED recessed light. These lights all provide dimming capabilities for optimizing lighting levels.
James Mazurek, Notre Dame's Director of Sustainability, said addressing energy and maintenance costs for campus lighting is one of the most effective ways they can reduce energy use, achieve their sustainability targets, and save money. On average, Americans use 22 percent of energy for lighting, so it makes sense to target lighting in our efforts to become a campus leader in sustainable business practices.
According to Deb Lovig, LED Programs Manager at Cree, they encourage universities to approach LED lighting implementation as Notre Dame has. Pick three or four distinct applications to install various LED lights, and then measure the quality of light as well as energy and maintenance-cost savings. If the light is better, energy is saved and maintenance costs are significantly reduced, moving to LED lighting from older technologies is a no-brainer.
About LED University
The LED University initiative is a growing international community of universities working to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting across their campus infrastructures to save energy, protect the environment, reduce maintenance costs and provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 22 percent of electricity used in the U.S. powers lighting. In a world with soaring energy prices based on the availability and control of fossil fuels, and with growing concern about sustainability of the environment, a revolution in lighting is long overdue.
Details of each university's LED lighting pilots and installations are available on the LED University web site: www.leduniversity.org
