Embarking on lighting retrofit

Things are about to get a whole lot brighter around Dal—and it won’t just be due to all the new students arriving in the fall.
   
The Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with Facilities Management, are undertaking a project this year to upgrade all of the lights on campus, both inside and outside. Almost all of Dalhousie’s buildings are scheduled for an upgrade, with the exception of a few buildings that will be getting more extensive retrofits. All outdoor lamps and light fixtures on Dalhousie property will also be overhauled.

Reduce energy

The idea is to both save energy and create a consistent lighting standard around campus, says Rochelle Owen, Director of the Office of Sustainability. The lighting upgrades are just one aspect of Dalhousie University’s Climate Change Plan which aims to lower Dalhousie’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50 per cent by 2020. The lighting upgrades should reduce overall lighting energy consumption by 20 to 30 per cent.

The project will kick off next week with a series of audits performed by Direct Energy, an energy and energy services retailer. Direct Energy will be producing a feasibility report that will look at how various spaces on campus are currently being used and what their current light levels are, and then they will evaluate how the company can improve the lighting of those areas. Improvements may include everything from installing new lamps, ballasts and fixtures, to adding new control switches.

Direct Energy will also be responsible for disposing of the old lighting components in an environmentally responsible way, and will be able to report on exactly where those materials are going and how many will have been diverted from landfills by the end of the project.

Direct Energy will begin the first of the audits on June 20, followed by actual installation in about two months. The Office of Sustainability predicts that the entire project should be done by March 2012.

Inside and outside

As for any disruptions to your work days – Direct Energy says you needn’t worry. “We’re going to be in all the spaces, but we do this all the time,” says Steven Ramsay, business development leader with Direct Energy. “Most places we can be in and out of in about a half hour.”

Any questions about the process may be directed to Omar Khartabil, Facilities Management, at o.khartabil@dal.ca.