University Lighting: Providing An Energy-Efficient Campus Environment

A university’s campus is like a small community filled with a variety of people with varying interests. However, one of the areas where the interests are aligned is safety. One of the best ways to ensure safety and security on campus is to improve university lighting.

LED lighting will provide a safe, secure, and energy-efficient environment on campus at all times. LEDs also reduce the cost of operation while satisfying the needs of faculty members and students who can appreciate the benefits of eco-friendly solutions. LEDs also provide outstanding durability in the environments that can place an incredible amount of stress on light bulbs and lighting fixtures, such as a university campus.

Due to the high-quality energy efficiency, LED lighting allows universities to save a significant amount of money on repairs, operating costs, and maintenance costs. When compared to a traditional light bulb, an LED light bulb can consume less than half the energy that the traditional light bulb can. Although an LED light bulb will not consume as much energy as a traditional light bulb, the quality of the LED bulb will not be negatively impacted.

A university needs to have safe walking areas across the entire environment, and college administrators can save a significant amount of money by lighting the campus with LED lights instead of the traditional lights. LED lighting for universities will typically last longer and they will be more reliable and durable than other lighting options your university may have used in the past.

All areas on a university campus can benefit from LED lighting fixtures, and there are different types of fixtures that will fit your university’s classrooms, parking lots, offices, dorms, walkways, etc. With students preparing to head back to campus, now is a great time to make improvements to your university lighting in order to ensure the safety of your university.

For more information on the benefits and advantages of LED university lighting, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

Safety on Campus: How Effective Lighting Means Safer Students

A recent article in The Michigan Daily, the school newspaper of the University of Michigan, reported that students were very concerned about crime in areas where the lighting was poor both at the university and around Ann Arbor in general. According to the article, “Online crime statistics highlight a potential correlation between crime in the city and poorly lit areas.” The statistics show that an assault-type crime is more likely to happen in areas without adequate lighting.

The safety and security of students is a concern for colleges and universities of all sizes, and a primary concern is safety after dark. Classes, meetings, and activities are often held at night. Students spend evening hours on campus studying, sometimes not heading home until after midnight.

Most universities have implemented strategies to help students feel safe on campus, especially after dark. Some of these strategies include apps such as Guardian that will alert a friend if a student encounters trouble, as well as “blue light” kiosks from which a student can call 911. On some campuses, students who are heading home after dark can call a service to request a safety officer walk them home.

Despite measures being taken by college campuses to ensure the safety of their students, the lack of adequate lighting in walkways is still a problem. The reality is that students just do not feel safe walking around campus in the dark. A University of Michigan sophomore stated that “When going to study at night, students have to worry about how they are walking home and if they have friends to walk home with because of the poor lighting. I even have found myself walking home earlier than I wanted to from the library because of the poor lighting on campus. This has definitely impacted my studies.”

American School & University Magazine, a publication devoted to campus design, suggests “well-lighted pathways between destinations help students feel — and stay — safe. Lighting extends to many other areas as well. Consider the lighting inside hallways and stairwells and in parking lots.” As more and more crimes are reported on college campuses, it is increasingly critical that students feel safe.

The concerned Michigan students have started a petition to improve the lighting at the University of Michigan and in the streets of Ann Arbor surrounding the university. The petition called “Bright Students Need Bright Lights” seems to be working, as city officials voted this past March to nearly double their budget for street lighting and to work with university officials to light the areas where students need to walk at night.

To learn more about how effective lighting can have a positive impact on safety, contact us.

Change Your University Lighting: Go Green, Go Better

When your university installs lighting fixtures that are energy-efficient, not only will you reduce your energy bill, you will also create a better environment for everyone. On a college campus, students walk around campus at various times of the day. You do not want your students to be afraid to walk on campus at night, this is why better lighting is so important.

When your students have to walk around campus at night, LED lighting will create a better distribution of lighting.When there are dark areas on campus, those areas will be more targeted by criminals and/or vandals. When lighting is evenly distributed, there will be fewer dark spots on campus.

No one wants to constantly look behind them because they are afraid someone will harm them. When your campus lighting is equipped with LED lighting, everyone will notice the difference in lighting. Another great thing about LED lighting is that you will be able to control the angle of your lighting, this means you will have control of placing the lighting in a corner or other spaces that may not have been lit using your previous lighting methods.

LED lights will last for a significant amount of time. These lights will last so long that your current students will have graduated and more students will come in before these light bulbs will need to be changed. You can have LED lights that will last up to seven or eight years.

Embracing Energy-Efficient and Economical Solutions to University Lighting

Universities across the country are homes to millions of students, many of which can be found “burning the midnight oil” while studying for exams on campus. One way or another, proper university lighting is essential. Now, more than ever, colleges are finding ways to make their lighting energy-efficient and economical.

Northern Arizona University (NAU) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interior Lighting Campaign, winning awards in the categories Best Use of Lighting Controls in a Single Building as well as Exemplary Higher Education Sector Site. By switching the lighting in the Student and Academic Service’s Building to LED technology, NAU has significantly cut unnecessary energy usage, saving both energy and expenses.

Meanwhile, Boston University has been going across campus and replacing its usual metal halide bulbs, which have been prominent in its outdoor lighting, with LED bulbs. Over fourteen different lighting retrofitting projects have been completed at Boston University since 2008, when the sustainability initiative began. In the new Center for Student Services alone, the implementation of LED lighting has decreased energy consumption by fifty-three percent.

Tufts University has embraced both LED lighting and motion sensors. The first college to sign the EPA Green Lights pledge (an agreement to improve the lighting in ninety percent of their floor space), Tufts has achieved this and more. By investing in LED lighting and motion sensors to shut lights off in empty spaces, the university has saved approximately $91,930 and 876,024 in kilowatt-hours.

By embracing sustainable forms of university lighting, colleges can become more energy-efficient and save expenses.

New University Lighting Is Sprucing Up The Super Bowl

Would you like a better view of the fingertip catches at the Super Bowl? You’re in luck. Super Bowl XLIX will be illuminated like no previous NFL championship game. On February 1st, the Patriots and the Seahawks will vie for the Vince Lombardi Trophy under a new LED lighting system that was installed in September.

ESPN and Fox are enthusiastic about the new lights because they will enhance television coverage. The new lighting system was tested on this season’s matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers at the University Of Phoenix Stadium, and got a high-5 from everyone involved.

Public television viewing and the replay system used by officials are more vivid and precise for both real-time viewing and slow-motion replay. Attention to detail and visibility have become critical issues in the NFL. Several recent games involving the Dallas Cowboys were decided by calls referees made after video reviews.

Stadium managers are happy because installing LED lights has cut down the number of lighting fixtures by more than half and cut the amount of electrical power needed by more than 900,000 watts. That’s enough to power 750 houses. Following the lead in Glendale, stadium managers are getting ready to re-illuminate stadiums all over the country.

All in all, officials expect to cut down their electrical bills by 65%. With so much less power needed, we are less likely to undergo another power outage like the 34-minute blackout that happened right after halftime at Super Bowl LXVII in New Orleans. With so much less power needed, officials easily constructed a backup power system.

Another perk is the LED lights are safer. Unlike the old metal halide lights, they do not generate heat. When the old lights were in place a worker on the catwalk had to stand way back from the lights, which felt like a wooden stove burning.

Start The New Year Off Right By Improving Your University Lighting

One of the biggest concerns on college campuses is the safety of the students and faculty, especially during the night. So many students have night classes or late sessions at the library, so there will typically be several students walking back and forth during the night.

Most college campuses do not have the adequate amount of lighting to make it comfortable for students to walk across campus at night. This makes students and teachers an easy target for criminals who lurk around campuses at night.

Lately, more universities are rethinking their university lighting strategy. More campuses are making the switch to LED lighting. The switch to LED lighting means saving on utility and maintenance costs, but the change will also improve the safety of everyone who walks around campus during the late night hours.

When you add LED lighting on your campus, you will immediately see a remarkable difference in the way your campus looks at night. Students will walk across comfortably, knowing that there is enough lighting to help them feel safe as they walk to class or to their vehicles.

There are not many safety measures that can do multiple things, such as improve safety, lower maintenance costs, and lower the expenses that are spent every year. Making the change to LED lighting will protect everyone on campus, not just the students. It will also put more money into the university’s funds because you will no longer spend a large sum of money on repairing the lamps and light bulbs that you previously used.

So, to start the new year on a higher note, your university should change your light fixtures.