Collegiate Times

Facilities at Virginia Tech have been taking sustainability initiatives since 1991; however, plans to conserve the use of lighting within the approximately 120 buildings on campus are still works in progress.

Currently, many buildings use incandescent bulbs as a means of lighting.

"Incandescent is a high-resistant lighting, which creates heat and uses more energy," said Chuck Shaver, associate director in Campus Renovation Services.

Tech buildings across campus are undergoing replacement of these bulbs as a means of taking sustainable initiatives. Compact fluorescent lighting is the ideal alternative.

"Compact fluorescent lighting uses, for a 75 watt (incandescent) bulb, we may be looking at a 13 watt fluorescent lamp to replace it," Shaver said. "Not to mention, an incandescent lamp lasts maybe six to 700 hours on average before it has to be replaced, whereas a compact fluorescent is going to last 10,000 hours."

These benefits are substantial.

"We're not only helping the environment, but we're also reducing the overall maintenance cost by not having people go around changing light bulbs," Shaver said.

Energy-conserving lighting, including day lighting, is a part of the Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design certification.

Several buildings on campus have gone into a construction phase that requires LEED certification as a criterion for completion.

The LEED Web site explains that this type of design was created to encourage and accelerate global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices. It provides "universally accepted" criteria for buildings as they undergo construction and renovation.

Another lighting initiative being taken is the use of occupancy sensors in classrooms and offices.

"When the last person leaves that classroom, they may not be thinking about turning off the lights," Shaver said. "They walk out, and 15 minutes after they walk out, the lights automatically go out rather than stay on until the next class."

Approximately 50 classrooms have had occupancy sensors installed in the last two years. Progress with sustainable lighting efforts began around 2006 with the establishment of new Design and Construction Standards.

"Our design standards over the last couple of years have been rewritten to include sustainable concepts," Shaver said.

While efforts currently being taken will vastly improve the use of lighting across campus, Shaver also explained that "funding is always the limiting factor," so progress isn't as productive as Campus Renovation Services hopes for at the present time.