GreenCampus

January 9, 2009

If reducing electricity by 25 per cent isn't enough of a reason for a complete lighting retrofit on campus, then consider that the first three facilities to be switched over—the Williams, Mitchell and Engineering buildings —will save the University about $1 million in electricity costs over the next ten years.

When the entire project is completed, 26 buildings (facilities not already renovated or upgraded through recent construction), will be far more efficient, cheaper and even brighter than before with the addition of compact fluorescent light bulbs and energy efficient ballasts.

"We are thrilled with the current success of our retrofitting project," said Frank Michel, electrical manager with Facilities Management Division. "It has met and exceeded our original expectations for reduced lighting related power consumption and is already contributing to lower consumption and energy costs."

According to Michel, most of the lights will be replaced on a one to one basis, but there are ways of reducing more lights by using reflectors in place of bulbs and maximizing the amount of daylight into buildings. But the easiest way to reduce energy, says Michel, is to "turn out the lights when you're done!"

If you know an initiative to make the U of S a greener campus, please email us at ocn@usask.ca.