Learn more about how one metropolitan school district saved both energy costs and maintenance expenses through a comprehensive indoor/outdoor lighting retrofit. Details on the use of utility incentives and data on savings are included. Download the case study.
Anytime a major university can reduce specific operating expenses by 85% and make the outdoor environment safer, more attractive and less costly to maintain, we call it a home run. Get the latest case study to find out more. Download the case study.
The Eco Engineering Approach
Eco Engineering has a long history of successfully completing energy efficient lighting projects in the K-12 and higher-ed education marketplace. We have supported Energy Service Companies (ESCO’s) as the lighting specialist on large “campus wide” energy savings performance contracts involving all aspects of energy usage. Our experience offers some critical insights and key learnings about energy efficient lighting projects.
The needs of the K-12 and higher-ed markets can be very different, but are similar in requiring proper light levels, seamless installation, and maximum energy savings. Outdoor lighting can be an overlooked area that provides additional energy savings and lower maintenance costs while making a positive impact on safety improvements. Lighting controls can be deployed to take advantage of natural light not only to reduce energy consumption but provide a superior lighting environment that researchers have proven to aid in the student’s ability to learn and retain.
Additional insights from our experience in both the K-12 and University sectors:
24 / 7 Operations
Implementing energy efficient lighting solutions in education environments requires coordinating crews and installation in a tightly scheduled operation. Some of these projects must be implemented within a 24×7 operating cycle. Eco Engineering has earned the reputation of providing outstanding customer service and non-disruptive capabilities amongst our customers, and we continue to provide maximum flexibility in scheduling and implementation in order to address the unique needs of a true 24×7 operation.
Delicate Environments
Whether you are talking about facilities that house students, children, or buildings that serve the public, you must take the unique and delicate aspects of the environment and its constituents into consideration while designing and implementing a lighting upgrade. Planning our work and tightly controlling how we execute our plan helps us earn accolades in terms of safety, courtesy, public care, cleanliness, professionalism and proper disposal of all materials removed from the job site.
Financing Total Energy Conservation
The education sector regularly evaluates potential savings associated with total energy conservation projects. The large financial commitment required for a complete and total energy efficient solution typically receives substantial scrutiny from political, community and board level audiences. Often the complete project appears overwhelming from a financial perspective and potential savings can go unrealized. An energy efficient lighting solution as the first component of a larger conservation project can begin to free up cash flow and reduce monthly expenses immediately. As such, lighting projects help reduce the burden or offset the financial stress a total campus wide initiative involving all energy systems might create.
Retrofitting Design and Reputation
When working in the education marketplace, it is common that the existing lighting systems are an unstandardized mix of both older and newer technologies. Although technology improvements may yield some savings over the current (and older) lighting configuration, a complete re-design of the lighting placement and resulting coverage often yields the incremental savings necessary to justify a project. When faced with the challenge of increasing the energy savings in an already high-quality lighting environment, the system design is a critical step in the retrofitting project plan. Eco Engineering understands that the foundation of an energy efficient lighting solution begins with engineering and sound design, in addition to adopting state of the art lighting systems and technologies. Our reputation in this arena is outstanding.