Bright ideas, big savings

Dal’s Office of Sustainability had the Student Union Building all lit up last Tuesday as it showcased the university’s lighting retrofit project as well as a new program by Efficiency Nova Scotia intended to help students conserve energy and save money.

The event was part of Green Week, an “environmental festival” organized by Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office. Green Week aims to raise awareness of sustainability issues while providing a variety of fun and educational activities for the Dalhousie community.

Replacing 25,000 bulbs, ballasts and fixtures

One very visible aspect of Dalhousie’s sustainability strategy over the last year has been the lighting retrofit, an ongoing project between Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability to replace over 25,000 light bulbs, ballasts and fixtures across 34 buildings with greener technologies. These improvements have included the introduction of LED bulbs inside and outside of buildings, as well as the installation of motion sensors, and T8 technology (those long florescent lighting tubes). The retrofit is due to be completed by March 2013.

Some students, staff and faculty have likely already noticed the upgrades, which have resulted in better lighting quality in many buildings around the university. The project will save approximately 3,623 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year (equivalent to keeping 710 cars off the road) as well as over $380,000 annually in overall energy costs.

Rochelle Owen, director of the Office of Sustainability was on hand to highlight these achievements alongside her office’s staff and representatives from Facilities Management and Direct Energy, the company performing the upgrades. They had a bright display of the new lights that have been installed, which were contrasted side-by-side with the old incandescent bulbs, showing off the improvement in lighting quality.

Left-to-right: Nicole Feltham, Kaelan Keys and Amanda VanTassel, all lit up. (Danny Abriel photo)

Do-it-yourself retrofit – for free

The event also featured a presentation and display by Clean Nova Scotia, a local environmental non-profit which recently launched operations of a new program, funded by Efficiency Nova Scotia, for off-campus students. It will allow students to have their apartments or houses retrofitted with compact florescent light bulbs, low-flow shower heads, faucet aerators, pipe insulation and hot water tank wraps – for free. The program can save students up to $160 a year on their energy bills.

To enroll in the program, students just need to call 1-888-281-0004. Efficiency Nova Scotia is also running a contest on Facebook that will enter students in a draw to win a month of free rent in exchange for telling their friends about the program.

Students who rent will have to have their landlord fill out a form to give Efficiency Nova Scotia permission to do the upgrades. But Kaelan Keys, program coordinator with Clean Nova Scotia, doesn’t imagine the program will be a tough sell for landlords or for students.

“It doesn’t cost them anything, it can save them up to a $160 a year in energy, and they’re helping the environment,” he says.