University of Illinois @ Chicago (UIC) — LED and Lighting control retrofit of the 18,000 sq ft Student Recreation Facility.
The buildings unique architecture made replacing burnt out lights very challenging. The lobby ceiling fixtures are 75 feet up which required a specific man lift at a rental cost of $5,000.00 per day.
“Basically it cost $5,000.00 each time we had to change a light bulb. Therefore we would wait until most of the lights burnt out to replace them. Problem was they were burning out way too fast. It required an innovative solution.” - Nate Scott, Associate Director
The solution was long lasting LED retrofit replacement fixtures.
“UIC came to us to help them reduce their energy use, improve the facility’s safety for their students, and lower their costs. We were able to meet all of their goals by replacing the current lighting with LED lighting. In fact, these lights are consuming almost 75% less energy.”
The indoor multi activity court or MAC gym, fitness/weight room floor areas and racket ball courts were also retrofit as part of this project. The areas have been retrofit with longer lasting, more durable, energy efficient LED fixtures which last 100,000 hours vs 20,000 hours of the previous system. The new lighting fixtures were integrated in to a Daylight and Occupancy controls system. As the sunlight shines in to the areas the light level will adjust based on predetermined light requirements. This whole system can be controlled with an app on a dedicated Apple device. The light levels have the capability to be adjusted manually according to the scheduling of each area.
“When the areas are not in use the lights will either dim down or shut off. This saves even more energy and helps extend the life of the fixtures.” Brian Cousins, UIC Facility Director.
“The project has received great feedback and the energy savings are quite significant”
A portion of this Project was funded by a DCEO grant made available to various state facilities for building efficiency upgrades. ComEd also offers similar incentives.
“With incentives the return on investment will be less than one year in energy savings alone” Stonis added. “That’s a significant amount of capital which can be reinvested back into the University.”
$20,000 per year in just energy costs savings
206,354 kWh on an annual basis
Saving in reduced labor costs due to reduced lifetime maintenance
146 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent.
