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   from the issue of March 4, 2004

     
 
New lights improve exit signs

 BY KIRK CONGER, UNL FACILITIES (BUILDING SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE)

It may seem strange to care about exit signs. They’re just there, and you hardly notice them unless you need to evacuate.



 


 
At 40 watts apiece, they may seem unimportant from an energy perspective as well, but there are a lot of them on campus and they’re always on, so their electricity use adds up. A typical exit light with two incandescent bulbs burns about $11 worth of electricity a year.

Last year, Justin Hansen, a lighting technician for Facilities Management and Planning, upgraded 550 exit signs with LED “bulbs.” Each screw-in replacement has about 25 red LEDs in a plastic housing. The LEDs use 3 watts per sign, saving 93 percent of the electricity ($10 per year), and the kits cost about $17 per sign. Also important, the LEDs should burn for at least 10 years, compared to less than a year for most incandescent bulbs.

Funding for the project was provided by the Nebraska Utilities Corporation, and savings will be used to finance other energy-saving projects and infrastructure improvements.

Not all exit signs were replaced because some use other technology that reduce their energy use or because replacement would require other modifications. The UNL Housing Department has recently begun a similar upgrade to exit signs in their buildings.

Facilities Management & Planning has a number of other projects under way to reduce campus energy costs. For more information or to make a suggestion, e-mail Kirk Conger at kconger2@unl.edu.

About this series

This story is one in a series spotlighting campuswide efforts to conserve energy and save money.

Help UNL save money by cutting energy costs. See www.unl.edu/unlpub/special/energy/ to learn other money-saving ideas.


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