LIGHTING
LED Outdoor Area Luminaires Help Schools Balance the Equation

A distressing fact is facing education across the country. Primary and secondary schools are spending a staggering $6 billion annually on energy - more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined. Colleges and universities have it even worse. According to ENERGY STAR®, the nation’s education institutions spend almost $14 billion annually on energy. And just like primary and secondary schools, by improving energy efficiency, colleges and universities may save money for repair and renovation, hiring of new faculty, new construction and other core activities.

The United States has experienced periods of volatility in energy costs and public schools have not been immune to these. The National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education undertook the “Effects of Energy Needs and Expenditures on U.S. Public Schools” survey. The survey examined the effects of energy needs on public school districts and was designed to contribute to a better understanding of how increases in energy expenditures influence school district budgeting and actions. While the survey was conducted ten years ago its findings remain relevant today. For example, in 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency reported that energy costs were second only to personnel costs as the leading draw on K-12 school district operating budgets.

Mayors across the country formed the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools, a coalition of mayors seeking to, “strategically harness the leadership and creativity of mayors across the country to promote the benefits of green schools in their communities.” Developed in partnership with the USGBC, the Alliance will work to accelerate implementation of programs supporting the 2007 U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution calling for green schools for all children within a generation.

State Initiatives
Following are just a couple examples of states’ mandates and initiatives to help reduce energy costs in their public schools.

California
Executive Order S-20-04 includes provisions geared toward several specific state agencies, charging each with particular tasks to accomplish the statewide goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% by 2015. Acknowledging that high-performance schools reduce energy and resource consumption, and create safer and healthier learning environments, the Executive Order charged the Division of State Architect with the responsibility of adopting guidelines that encourage school districts to build resource and energy-efficient facilities.

Tennessee
The Metropolitan Board of Public Education for the City of Nashville and Davidson County, TN, has announced significant environmental achievements as the initial five-year phase of a project of metro Nashville public schools nears completion.

The energy, environmental and operational improvements project has resulted in improvements to more than 135 facilities, delivering nearly $3 million in annual energy savings along with a significant reduction in greenhouse gases.

Higher Education Initiatives
Like school districts, colleges and universities are trying to combat escalating energy costs. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that 25% of the $6 billion colleges and universities spend annually on energy could be saved through better energy management. But what may these institutions implement now – to already existing facilities – that will lower their energy costs and  move them toward being green? While few schools in the United States are officially labeled “green” construction, there are many smaller things that may make a school “greener,” or more environmentally friendly and lower energy costs.

The DOE has calculated that lighting in institutional facilities, including schools, may consume up to one-third of a building’s total energy costs. Typically, lighting is viewed as a fixed expense but with the tremendous advances in technology and engineering, and given the high percentage that is spent on energy; this line item needs closer examination.

In 2006, 12 college and university presidents formed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a charter that promotes climate neutrality goals within the nation’s higher education system – currently more than 660 institutions have embraced the chance. And while this number sounds impressive, there are more than 3,000 U.S. colleges and universities, providing plenty of opportunity to make a difference.

Another program, LED University™, launched in April 2008, is designed to accelerate the adoption of LED lighting in an effort to significantly reduce the amount of electricity used to power lighting on campuses throughout the world. As the program grows, the LED University community may foster collaboration and efficiencies among universities as they deploy energy-efficient lighting to expedite cost savings and environmental benefits.

LED Luminaires Lead the Way
With compact size, potential for great efficacy and lumen maintenance, Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology is viable from a performance and economic standpoint moving it into mainstream lighting applications. By and large, LEDs were thought about only for aesthetic/ color changing uses. But engineering and technological advances have improved LED luminaires’ performance and it is possible to use LED lighting solutions for general lighting applications for interior and exterior spaces in schools resulting in significant energy savings. LEDs may be a more costeffective and energy-efficient alternative to high intensity discharge (HID) sources such as high-pressure sodium and metal halide.

And while the cost paradigm for LED is different than high intensity sources due to their higher initial cost, it may be offset by accelerating ROI curves resulting from less energy consumption and lower maintenance costs.

LED Background
LEDs have been around for over 40 years. In most applications, the small semiconductor devices were used to produce millions of different colors and brightness levels of light while using significantly less energy than traditional lighting methods.

Within the past few years, LED technology has advanced to the level where LED light sources may match or outperform HID light sources. Some approaches to developing general illumination products incorporating LEDs often involved retrofitting existing fixtures to house new LED technology. Many early attempts simply used traditional standards and housings, resulting in poor performance, inefficient lighting and lower fixture life. Be wary of this approach and look for products specifically designed to maximize LED performance.

LED Advantages
Due to their potential long life, LED products may offer nearly maintenancefree service along with the possibility for significant energy savings. LEDs also re-strike instantly after a power interruption and may be controlled with occupancy sensors to offer even greater energy savings.

Additionally, an LED does not “burn out” like a standard lamp, so individual diodes do not need to be replaced. Instead, they gradually produce lower output levels over a very long time. In fact, well-designed fixtures may operate well over 50,000 hours and still deliver at least 70% of their initial performance. In a well-designed LED luminaire, if one LED fails it does not produce a complete fixture outage.

LED lighting for general outdoor use may provide:

• Durability: LEDs are solid-state devices containing no moving parts, no filaments or fragile glass to break, reducing the risk of damage during transportation, installation and operation, even in the toughest environments. And unlike conventional light sources, LEDs are typically not subject to sudden failure or burnout.

• Longer life span: A well-designed LED luminaire may provide maintenance-free service well beyond incandescent, fluorescent or HID luminaires.

• Green: LEDs are considered sustainable because they may potentially decrease the need for additional power plants that cause the release of CO2 into the atmosphere and do not contain mercury or other heavy metals.

The Prairie School
The Prairie School in Racine, WI, recently improved lighting quality, reduced maintenance costs and realized a 53% energy savings through the installation of LED area lights in the main parking lot. School officials were impressed with the astounding visual impact of the new lighting and the dramatic savings, both in maintenance and energy costs. Taking into account the over 50,000 hours of potentially maintenance- free operation, the facility will be looking forward to over 16 years of installed service life.

This beautiful, 1965 Frank Lloyd Wright inspired, K-12 school is well established within the community. Maintaining the contemporary design of the campus while blending with the wooded, rural setting was an important consideration in the installation of new outdoor lighting; the low profile design of the area lights successfully met those criteria.

Wm. H. Mark Murphy, headmaster and president of The Prairie School commented, “We’re not only happy with the impressive light levels of the LED fixtures but we’re also looking forward to realizing the cost savings on our utility bills from the reduced energy usage.” Due to the success of the outdoor luminaires, Prairie School is evaluating interior LED luminaires in a classroom and a hallway.

University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado at Boulder main campus is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains on 600 rolling acres in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Safety and security are of utmost importance for the 30,000 students and nearly 7,000 faculty members who travel throughout the campus during daylight and nighttime hours. For the university facilities management department, exterior campus lighting is essential in creating a safe environment. Motor vehicle parking lots and structures, main pedestrian walkways and bike paths, and most campus building exteriors are lit all night long.

University of Colorado at Boulder campus electrical engineer, Joe Branchaw, is in the process of a longterm project to re-light the university’s 132-year old campus. Branchaw selected LED area lights for a trial in late 2007. Pleased with the significantly improved white light, energy savings and low maintenance, the LED luminaires were selected to replace the metal halide fixtures throughout campus. Two-and-a-half years after the first installation, Branchaw is in the midst of a complete campus relighting project using LED area, security and parking luminaires. His goal is to complete the campus-wide installation in 2012 and achieve an energy and maintenance savings payback in three to five years.

Currently 50 LED area luminaires are installed in six locations illuminating walkways and the top level of a campus parking structure. Most installations have replaced metal halide dome-top fixtures, using existing poles to save money but in some instances, poles have had to be replaced.

Walkways that lead to university housing are lit with LED area lights, improving visibility and safety for students. “My daughter, a graduate of the university, visited campus recently and remarked about how the dimly lit area by the tunnel that leads to the dorms where she used to be afraid to walk is now brightly lit,” said Branchaw. “She said she wouldn’t be afraid to walk through that underpass any more.”

The Regent Drive AutoPark, a two-level parking structure located next to the university police department, is lit with LED parking lights. Branchaw said this was no easy feat. He had to convince skeptical university officials who had been swayed to believe that fluorescent light fixtures were a better choice than LED luminaires for parking structures. Branchaw took the head of parking and transportation for the university on a field trip to see a LED parking luminaire installation. The show-and-tell dispelled the myth that LEDs provide less light and require more fixtures and won Branchaw approval for installation of LED parking luminaires. Police and motorists immediately provided positive feedback about the huge improvement the lights provide.

One of the more notable installations is in the student courtyard. Maintenance workers have thanked Branchaw for the improved lighting in that area that helps them perform their jobs more easily during the dimly lit hours when the students are not using the area. At the Regent administration building, an LED security luminaire enhances a remodeled rear entryway, replacing an unsightly cobra head fixture, and adding uniform white light to the space.

The campus-wide relighting project is happening in phases as the budget becomes available with the level of maintenance required for existing fixtures driving the prioritization of which  lights are replaced first. The university will continue making installations as funding becomes available with a goal to relight the entire campus with LED luminaires. Branchaw’s next goal is to light all surface parking lots with LED lights.

The university is aiming for a 20% reduction in energy consumption from 2005-2006 levels by the 2011-2012 academic year. Campus design standards mandate that all new buildings and major renovations meet LEED Gold standards. There are currently four LEED-certified buildings on campus and the three new buildings are LEED Gold-certified.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau (2006-2007), there are 95,615 public elementary and secondary schools and 29,273 private elementary and secondary schools in this country. Imagine the amount of money that could be redirected toward educating the children, hiring more teachers and buying necessary classroom materials if an energy efficiency program was implemented.

The DOE reports that states and local agencies are planning to invest more than $60 billion in the next three years to build or renovate schools. Now is the time for school districts, government and community leaders, and parents to recognize that sustainable products, such as LED luminaires, are a catalyst to significant improvements in energy efficiency in the nation’s K-12 schools and higher education institutions.

Kevin Orth is director of sales for BetaLED and may be reached at kevin_orth@beta-kramer.com. BetaLED, a brand of Beta Lighting, was established to dedicate resources to the emerging use of LED technology for general illumination.
 

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