By Donna Hemmila
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| Mary Pineda uses an energy-efficient task light to illuminate her desk as part of a lighting demonstration project. |
That simple strategy of just flipping the switch off when you don't need light still works today, only the methods are more advanced.
UC has been on the forefront of the smart building movement, designing lighting and ventilation systems that conserve energy use and reduce carbon emissions. Now the Office of the President is putting some of those innovations to use in our own Franklin Street building.
With help from the California Lighting Technology Center, based at UC Davis, UCOP is testing new approaches to electricity consumption.
On the ninth floor, the pilot project has reduced energy use by 59 percent. That is just for the half of the floor that the Business Resource Center occupies.
"We estimate that lighting represents 20 to 30 percent of all electric usage," said Dirk van Ulden, UCOP associate director of energy and utilities. "Once we convert the entire building lighting system, we should see an energy cost reduction of at least $50,000 per year while improving visual comfort and contributing to UC's sustainable practices policy goals."
The first week of April, the fluorescent bulbs in the overhead light fixtures in the Business Resource Center were replaced with energy-efficient bulbs that cast a "daylight" glow rather than the harsh yellow of fluorescent tubes. The fixtures now hold only one bank of bulbs instead of the standard two. Each workstation has an LED task light and movable under-shelf lights with motion detectors to turn them off automatically when no one is in a cubicle. The UC Davis lighting center is funding the test.
About 54 people are using the new lighting system.
"There's no glare," said Mary Pineda. "It feels cooler when I come in from outside. I really like it because it's subdued but well-lighted. It's been a nice improvement."
Helen Valness, director of the Business Resource Center, said she really notices the contrast between the overhead lights on the other side of the floor and in the ladies room. She prefers the blue tone of the new lights and also finds them cooler.
But not everyone is thrilled with the change.
"At first everyone said they felt sleepy because it's darker," said Pin Luo. "But now we're getting used to it."
Van Ulden hopes to spread these innovative lighting technologies throughout the Franklin Street building and the UC system. The more of a market there is for these energy-saving products, he said, the more vendors are going to want to manufacture and market them.
"The problem has been the university develops these systems, but we're having a hard time getting people to adopt them," he said.
Van Ulden has estimated that throughout the UC system there are about 300,000 overhead fixtures in offices and classrooms that could be upgraded with more energy-efficient lights.
Soon UCOP employees will be able to tell just how much energy they're saving – or not.
Meters will be installed to measure real-time consumption on each floor, and that information will be displayed online and maybe in the building lobby.
Donna Hemmila is editor of Our University.