Garage H Lights Go 'Green' and Save UCF More Than $42,000 Annually

By Kimberly Lewis October 29, 2009

Photo: Kimberly Lewis

Alex Parlato, UCF Sustainability and Energy Management, helps install new energy efficient light fixtures in Garage H.

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Better lighting and more than $42,000 a year in savings will result from the new, energy efficient T5 fluorescent lights installed this week in the University of Central Florida’s oldest parking garage.

Five hundred light fixtures on the lower three levels of Garage H were changed. The old light fixtures contained high-pressure sodium lights.

Staff worked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for four weeks to complete the project, part of UCF's Sustainability and Energy Management's effort to make UCF a greener, more energy-efficient university. Eventually, all garages will have the new and more efficient lighting.

"While the brightness output is the same, the garage actually appears brighter," said David Norvell, director of UCF's Sustainability and Energy Management. "The old lights had an orange color to them. The new lights emit light in a more natural color."

The result is better visibility for students and visitors. In the former orange light, a blue car looked the same as a brown car, Norvell said. With the new lights, colors can be distinguished more easily.

The new lights have a lamp life of 42,000 hours. They use 14,436 kilowatt hours of energy per month, which is 33,444 fewer kilowatt hours than the old light system.

The cost of the Garage H light replacement project, $51,384, will be recouped in 1.2 years.

Garage H is located on the western side of campus, between University Boulevard and Centaurus Drive.

UCF Stands for Opportunity -- The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 3rd largest in the nation with more than 53,500 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu

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