Nov 11 2008
Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE), a leader in LED lighting, announces that the University of Notre Dame is joining the LED University(tm) program, an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs across their campuses.
The university is implementing four pilot installations to evaluate the feasibility of LED lighting across the campus. These pilots include LED step lighting from BEGA-USA on the new Irish Green, recessed LED lighting from Cree in the Facilities Building conference room and in the elevator lobby of Hesburgh Library, and outdoor decorative area lights from Sternberg Lighting on central campus.
The energy savings in the elevator lobby of Hesburgh Library are particularly high because the library is illuminated 24 hours a day. Notre Dame is realizing energy savings of 81 percent for the library installation compared with the previous incandescent lighting and 50 percent for the outdoor lights compared with the previous metal halide lighting. Considering that the campus lies on 1,250 acres and includes 137 buildings, the potential savings from widespread use of LED lighting are tremendous.
A Facilities Building conference room was completely relit with LED lights, providing dramatically improved light quality and energy savings of approximately 80 percent, compared with the fluorescent troffers and recessed lights that were replaced. The university installed a combination of energy-efficient Cree LR6 and LR4 recessed lights and the new LR24 two-foot by two-foot LED recessed light. These lights all provide dimming capabilities for optimizing lighting levels.
"Addressing energy and maintenance costs for campus lighting is one of the most effective ways we can reduce energy use, achieve our sustainability targets, and save money," said James Mazurek, Notre Dame's Director of Sustainability. "On average, Americans use 22 percent of energy for lighting, so it makes sense to target lighting in our efforts to become a campus leader in sustainable business practices."
"We encourage universities to approach LED lighting implementation as Notre Dame has," said Deb Lovig, LED Programs Manager at Cree. "Pick three or four distinct applications to install various LED lights, and then measure the quality of light as well as energy and maintenance-cost savings. If the light is better, energy is saved and maintenance costs are significantly reduced, moving to LED lighting from older technologies is a no-brainer."
University of Notre Dame joins North Carolina State University, Marquette University, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Arkansas, Madison Area Technical College and Tianjin Polytechnic University in China in evaluating and deploying LED lighting in areas such as offices, student housing, parking garages, walkways and streets across their campus infrastructures. The LED University member institutions are evaluating, promoting and deploying LED lighting as they work toward increasing energy savings, protecting the environment, reducing maintenance costs and providing better light quality for improved visibility and safety.