And Let there be (less) light

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By Paul Mayne
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Using sensors to meter natural light and dim interior lighting accordingly, a new pilot project in the Social Science Centre could be the springboard to a significant reduction in campus energy costs.


Physical Plant HVAC/IAQ technologist Steve MacKay checks one of the new ‘daylight harvesting’ sensors located on the eighth floor of the Social Sciences Centre. A pilot project anticipates savings of as much as 82 per cent on electricity costs. 


Referred to as a daylight harvesting system, a retrofit to the eighth floor of SSC is less than a month old so  savings have not yet been determined. But Associate Vice-President (Physical Plant & Capital Planning Services) Roy Langille is excited about the possibilities. His former employer, Seneca College, has a similar project
 
“One of the highest operating costs for our campus is established by our use of electrical energy,” says Langille. “It is our goal to extend beyond past energy efficiency initiatives into ‘state of the art’ technologies allowing our operations group to gain further control over our utility costs while enhancing our facilities for staff and students alike.”
 
Across the university’s 76 buildings, a large component of electricity use is in lighting of classrooms, hallways and common areas - reaching as much as 30 per cent during prime operating periods.
 
With many buildings dating from the 1970s and earlier, numerous opportunities for energy savings have been identified and lighting is one of the main focuses.
 
Steve MacKay, HVAC/IAQ technologist with Physical Plant, says the new lighting control technologies in SSC will be monitored to assess the benefits of retrofitting other buildings.
 
Lighting retrofits of many of buildings have been underway for a few years, replacing what is known as T12 with T8 fluorescents. This approach produces energy savings of 30-60 per cent depending on the fixture. The savings can be boosted to the 70-80 per cent range with strategies that include dimming, occupancy sensors, scheduling and daylight harvesting techniques.
 
For example, typical weekday usage (12 hours) for a single fixture is 10 cents/kWh, and this could drop to as low as 1.73 cents/KWh. The capacity in the SSC project has been reduced from four fluorescent lights in each fixture to two.
 
“While Physical Plant is doing what it can to reduce costs when it comes to energy consumption, it takes a partnership with students, staff and faculty to get full benefits,” says MacKay, adding the simple act of turning off unnecessary lights can have a significant impact.
 
For example, the March 28 Earth Hour, a large scale demonstration designed to encourage people world-wide to turn off the lights for an hour, resulted in a drop in energy use of six per cent on campus.
 
Other energy saving projects on the go include roofing replacement upgrades, window replacements, building sub-metering (measuring energy consumption) and working towards Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation with all new construction or renovations.
 

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