Popular Science—Popular Science highlights health damages of the light we have been using for the past 100 years and new plans of improvement. Professor Michael Siminovitch shares his insights. This article was originally published in the January/February 2016 issue of Popular Science.
Each year, California schools spend approximately as much money on energy—$700 million—as they do on books and supplies.1 Education spending is a frequent point of debate among politicians and citizens, and maximizing the implementation of energy efficient technologies in school facilities could act as a way to increase education budgets without allocating additional public funds.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company— California K-12 school districts are in the process of updating and retrofitting the mechanical and engineering systems in their schools, primarily through the implementation of Proposition 39. Improving the efficiency of school lighting is a priority in the effort to increase the energy efficiency of school facilities, due to its relative simplicity in comparison to retrofitting complex mechanical systems.
CLTC recently released “Lighting Retrofit Strategies for California Schools,” a new guide designed to help K–12 schools and community colleges maximize the long-term benefits of energy-efficient lighting upgrades. The guide provides expert advice on best practices for planning projects, incorporating daylighting and lighting controls, and selecting solutions for applications commonly found at school sites. The interactive electronic guide also includes Web links to case studies, product specification sheets, free or low-cost support programs, and other online resources.
CLTC’s “Lighting Retrofit Strategies for California Schools” is designed to help project managers navigate the many options now available for lighting retrofits and installations. The guide covers lighting and daylighting retrofit strategies that have consistently proven to provide the greatest long-term energy savings and lighting quality improvements on K–12 and community college campuses.
KCRA— Woodland Joint Unified School District has installed solar canopies with energy-efficient adaptive lighting at 10 sites throughout the district. The project is expected to save the district thousands of dollars annually in electricity costs while drastically reducing carbon emissions and serving as an example for other school districts focused on improving sustainability and the cost-effectiveness of district operations.
With support from SolarCity, Woodland Joint Unified School District (WJUSD) has implemented solar structures at 10 different sites throughout the district. CLTC supported the district's selection of energy-efficient adaptive lighting for the solar-paneled carports at four of the sites.
Join Assembly Member Mariko Yamada and representatives from State Senator Lois Wolk's office, the California Lighting Technology Center, Woodland Unified School District, SolarCity, and EverLast Lighting for a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony.