News

13 January 2009

 

UC Davis joins Cree’s LED University program

LED chip, lamp and lighting fixture maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA says that University of California, Davis is joining the LED University program.

Launched in April 2008, the LED University initiative is an international community of universities working to evaluate, deploy and promote the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs across their infrastructures (in areas such as offices, student housing, parking garages, walkways and streets). The aim is to save energy, protect the environment, reduce maintenance costs, and provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety. University of California, Davis joins inaugural participant North Carolina State University as well as University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Arkansas, Marquette University, the University of Notre Dame, and Madison Area Technical College (MATC) in the USA, as well as Tianjin Polytechnic University in China.

In conjunction with joining the LED University program, University of California, Davis has unveiled new bi-level LED lighting at its South Entry Parking Structure near the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

The LED light fixtures, featuring activity-sensing technology adapted and developed at California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at UC Davis, provide enhanced night-time visibility while reducing energy consumption by up to 80% compared with the metal-halide fixtures that were replaced.

Switching to LED lights and adding bi-level activity-sensing technology yields energy savings for the project averaging 50%, it is reckoned. In low mode, energy savings are up to 80%. The university installed 50 BetaLED fixtures and, based on night-time, bi-level operation with an average ambient temperature near 15ºC, the luminaires should require no re-lamping and be virtually maintenance free for 20-25 years.

“With LED lighting, we are improving visibility and enhancing the safety of our parking structure while reducing energy consumption,” says Chris Cioni, associate director of UC Davis facilities management, utilities division. “We are also significantly reducing both maintenance costs and light trespass compared to the incumbent metal-halide technology. Deploying LED lighting in our parking facilities yields benefits in many areas, and we plan to evaluate LED lighting in other applications,” he adds.

“Our initial LED lighting installation is part of California Lighting Technology Center's Smart Lighting Initiative, an effort we have pursued over the past two years to utilize high-efficiency lighting sources with bi-level activity sensors to reduce lighting levels when no one is using the parking facility,” says CLTC director Michael Siminovitch. “Even at half-power, the LED fixtures are delivering plenty of light to the space," he adds. "We may be able to cut levels further, saving even more electricity and lengthening fixture lifetimes.”

Safety can be improved with the bi-level system, it is reckoned. When motion is detected and the higher light mode is activated, the change in the visual environment alerts people nearby. Drivers, pedestrians and security agents now have an indicator when there is activity in the area.

See related items:

Notre Dame and Madison Area Technical College join LED University Program

Cree launches LED University program

Search: Cree LEDs LED University program

Visit: http://cltc.ucdavis.edu

Visit: www.leduniversity.org

Visit: www.cree.com