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| GE Lighting helps school campus reduce energy costs  Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (CVCC) recently called on GE Lighting, in conjunction with CCG Energy Solutions, to create a lighting equation that would result in better quality light and lower energy and life-cycle maintenance costs. Part of a $2.6 million comprehensive energy project, the school's campus underwent a lighting upgrade that included state-of-the-art outdoor GE Evolve LED Area Lights, rooftop daylighting panels with automatic dimming, and new high-efficiency fluorescent fixtures utilizing UltraMax ballasts and Watt-Miser extended life lamps throughout the building. In addition to the lighting improvements, mechanical upgrades with HVAC controls and a new building automation system were implemented to provide savings of more than $200, 000 annually."This will give us the opportunity to show our students, staff and community the most current techniques used for energy conservation," says Roscoe Schlachter, superintendent, CVCC. "Our students commute to our campus, so parking lot safety and visibility are vitally important to us. GE's proven experience in LED technology allows us to optimize light rather than adding more fixtures, which helps us cut costs, reduce risk and save energy." Some of the most notable changes to the campus are its 215,000-square-foot parking lot, walkways and long, winding driveway that now feature more evenly distributed white light while minimizing energy consumption, disposal cost and light pollution. The original 400-watt and 250-watt metal halide "shoeboxes" were converted to 218-watt and 70-watt Evolve LEDs, which deliver 52 percent in energy savings and provide an estimated 10-year service life (50,000-hour rated life), which is four times the recommended service interval of a standard High Intensity Discharge (HID) system. "The new LEDs direct their light more efficiently, which means less reflected light and improved utilization for a positive impact on property appearance, security and pedestrian visibility," says Mary Beth Gotti, manager of the GE Lighting & Electrical Institute. The campus retrofit also included upgrades to the fluorescent lighting systems inside the buildings, including high-efficiency volumetric light fixtures in the drop ceilings. The combination of UltraMax electronic ballasts and energy-efficient T8 Watt-Miser lamps provide optimal lamp performance and significant cost savings – up to 40 percent over standard ballasted T12 systems. The high 5,000 Kelvin-rated lamps also offer a bright light output and produce a crisp, clean illumination important to the educational setting. "Schools today require lighting products that allow for creativity and energy efficiency," says Gotti. "Our lighting technology helps eliminate mercury disposal and meets waste reduction legislation that helps schools achieve better light levels to enhance learning for students and staff while minimizing energy and waste consumption to improve the environment and the bottom line." write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Construction News :: home page |