Educational LED Lighting
From Relight USA
Educational Lighting
Our nation’s education institutions spend almost $14 billion a year on energy. Schools and universities have the ability to distinguish themselves as leaders in education and as environmental leaders. Lighting alone represents 52% of energy spend at schools and universities. Energy costs are a large operational expense for schools and universities – comprising the second-largest such expense for school districts, after teacher’s salaries. What’s more, lighting has been underutilized as a classroom tool, despite clear evidence that adjusting light levels and quality to the task at hand can improve student performance.
A success story highlighted by a project funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) is developing an energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED)-based lighting system for classrooms that can be easily controlled to optimize student performance. The result of a DOE-facilitated partnership between RTI International and Finelite, the integrated next-generation system makes it easy to control light levels and chromaticity (the color of the light) in three classroom zones. It also incorporates what’s known as “daylight harvesting,” which is the use of daylight to supplement artificial lighting to further reduce energy consumption.
Benefits of Better Lighting
- Improvement in behavior with bright lights making students more alert with improved concentration
- Better test scores
- Multi-use Variable lighting controls allow for different or varied lighting to suit changing environments
- Save in energy costs allowing the school system to invest savings in education.
