Conservation Corner

October 19, 2010

A message from Erik Anderson, Director, Facilities Operations:

In an ongoing effort to reduce Santa Fe College's carbon footprint and also reduce our energy costs, Facilities Services is always looking for new and innovative ideas and projects by which to work toward our goals.

We decided to create the Conservation Corner to inform the campus community about what is happening around campus regarding energy conservation and projects that might slip under the campus radar.

One such project is the change out of walkway lighting from the existing 175-watt and 400-watt metal halide lights to 40-watt LED lighting. The change out occurs as a straight swap, one-for-one, and reduces energy use anywhere from around 75 percent to using 1/10th of the former consumption. This project will be done in phases since our electricians must also perform daily maintenance work.

LED lighting has been installed at the east side of W Building and at the entrance between G and D Buildings. Even with the reduction in energy, the areas are much better lit, as you can see from the before (left) and after photos (right) taken between G and D Buildings. Please click the photos for larger images.

In addition, the new lighting requires far less maintenance. The life of a metal halide lamp is 10,000 hours, and the LED is 100,000 hours. If you assume the burn time of a walkway light to be 8 hours a night, five days a week, 50 weeks a year,  then they will burn 2,000 hours a year. In that scenario, the metal halide should last about 5 years and the LED, 50!

You should never see us change out the LED lghts again.

Conservation Corner will be a regular feature showcasing Santa Fe's efforts to become a more sustainable campus.