Collegiate Times

The lights of Lane Stadium remain illuminated long after football season concludes, sparking possible concerns of energy efficiency in one of Virginia Tech's most recognizable structures.

But Pete Pool, athletics department housekeeping supervisor, noted that the stadium serves a much greater purpose than most realize.

"Just because football season stops, there's still a lot of activity that goes on in the building, said Pool, the housekeeping supervisor within the Athletics Department. "Between dinner functions, rentals, and, not to mention, it's still new enough to where everyone wants to come tour it."

Casey Underwood, director of outside facilities, noted that the amount of power actually flowing to the stadium can be deceiving.

Fifty percent of the lights in Lane Stadium are on emergency circuits, Underwood said, adding, "We can have half the lights off in the stadium, and it still looks like all the lights are on."

This type of emergency lighting system is the same as that used in Tech's residence buildings. Just as the hallways and crossovers within a residence hall are constantly lit, a number of sections on certain levels of Lane Stadium are also illuminated around the clock.

Underwood cited that premature wear is a common problem with frequently switching the breaker panels on and off. Underwood said doing so creates a problem of having to work around short-notice use of the stadium.

"We don't want to get caught with half the lights out and somebody having to come in and use a suite on short-notice," Underwood said.

Pool echoed Underwood's expression, noting that it becomes hard to find a balance when you're operating on short-notice use.

"They're not always scheduled tours," Pool said. "Some big donor will come in and want to see the building that hasn't seen it."

Underwood maintains the athletics department is in the process of working toward a more cost-efficient lighting system.

"In the last two years, we've gone inside the emergency breaker panels and, when we're out of season and not in spaces that we rent, we basically turn all the emergencies off except maybe a handful for security purposes."

In the south end zone Underwood said the department was extremely successful in reducing the number of emergency lights that were kept on this past year.

Underwood added that renovations within the stadium will increase cost-efficiency.

"What we're doing in the new bathroom renovations is putting motion detector features in," Underwood said. "That way, when you go in a bathroom, the lights will be off unless you open the door; whereas before, the lights basically stayed on through season."

In addition to these measures, the department plans on using fluorescent lighting wherever possible to increase energy efficiency.

As for the exterior lighting of Lane Stadium, Underwood said that these lights are photocells that automatically come on when it gets dark. The purpose of these lights is primarily limited to creating an aesthetically pleasing west facade.

"We like showing off the building," Pool said.

Underwood said proposals have been made within the department to limit the amount of time these lights are on by adding timers to the stadium's lighting control system. These measures, too, would decrease energy costs.  

While some may perceive the interior lights in Lane Stadium as a waste of energy, this is not the case.

"For a long time, our football team ate in there three or four days a week," Underwood said.

Pool noted the stadium's additional use for academic purposes.

"We've got three floors in that building that are used year-round," Pool said. "We have our student academic center in there, the Hokie club ..."

The athletics department is currently in the process of working to achieve a more energy- and cost-efficient lighting system.

"And a lot of it is just a learning curve for us; we're trying to expand upon how much we can continue to pare down our expenditures - as much for cost and conservation purposes," Underwood said.