Cutting the energy used for lighting is a key part of the state's efforts to reduce the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions generated from burning fossil fuels. California Public Utilities Commission President Michael R. Peevey says UC Davis is the first institution to commit to achieving the lighting efficiency goals called for in the California Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan.

That mandate seeks to reduce lighting energy use by 60 percent or more by 2020. The university says it intends to reach that goal in half the time--by 2015. Since 2007, it has reduced lighting energy consumption by about 10 percent.

To reach those goals, the university's facilities management team is working with the UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center, a research and education facility that focuses on the application of energy-efficient lighting and daylighting technologies.

Some of the energy-saving lighting projects that have been put into place:

• Light-emitting diode overhead lights with two brightness levels, controlled by occupancy sensors, in campus parking structures
• Bi-level induction lighting, also controlled by occupancy sensors, in campus parking lots and structures
• Induction lights in streetlight fixtures on the north entry road
• "Hybrid" bathroom lights that combine LED night lights with conventional lights and occupancy sensors in Emerson Hall and Webster Hall residence halls
• Bi-level LED overhead lights in corridors of Bainer Hall, a science facility
• Advanced compact fluorescent lights in the downlights of Meyer Hall, which houses labs and offices
• LED desk lamps and bi-level overhead lights controlled by occupancy sensors, daylight sensors and people in offices of Mrak Hall, which house the campus administration
• A unique mirrored sunlighting device to bring daylight into interior rooms at the campus's new winery, brewery and food-processing complex.

The UC Davis Smart Lighting program is expected to cost $39 million. The California Statewide Energy Partnership Program will contribute $4 million of the total, the university says. The remaining $35 million will be paid for by energy savings of $3 million per year.

The California Public Utilities Commission estimates that lighting accounts for 25 percent of California's electricity use. At UC Davis, lighting accounts for 29 percent of electricity consumption on campus, and that percentage is falling.

The Smart Lighting Initiative is part of the university's Climate Action Plan, which documents current and future actions UC Davis is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global climate change.

The University of California system has set a target for all 10 UC campuses to reduce their emissions to 2000 levels by 2014. UC Davis reached that goal in 2008, and hopes to reduce campus emissions by an additional 10 percent by 2014.

--by Mike Kennedy

• 54,000: In gallons, the amount of water saved at Emory University in Atlanta in October 2010 compared with October 2009, as part of the school's energy-saving competition.

Source: Emory University

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