Although winter is approaching, the way back to your dorm may seem a little brighter for some odd reason. All you have to do is look up and you’ll find the answer: LED lamps. High-end light emitting diodes, known as LEDs, have made an electrifying entrance onto Choate’s campus, replacing the existing incandescent lamps.
According to Frank Peters, Electrical Supervisor for Facilities Services, Choate’s old incandescent lamps are being replaced with LED lights for several advantageous reasons. “From a service standpoint, anything that will extend the time between re-lamping is extremely beneficial. Many of these lights are in hard-to-reach places, and the energy savings is substantial due to the quantities involved,” stated Mr. Peters. He also noted that replacing incandescent lamps on a frequent basis has become a labor-intensive job, so using LED technology would be a more efficient alternative, allowing the Facilities Service to solve this issue.
LED technology will have a beneficial and sustainable impact on Choate’s campus, given Choate’s focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. Moreover, because Choate has been heavily involved in the pursuit of sustainable initiatives, such as the LEED Platinum status of the Lanphier Center and the state-of-the-art Kohler Environmental Center, Mr. Peters noted that it would be an obvious choice to use LED lamps whenever viable. “For Facilities and Choate, the benefit of having a lamp that will last ten times longer, or greater, is a great reason to utilize them,” said Mr. Peters.
Though replacing incandescent lamps with LED technology has many advantages, there are some limitations to this new change on campus. According to Mr. Peters, the biggest obstacle is that LED lamps are very sensitive to heat. As a result, these lamps will not be installed in dormitories around campus. As Mr. Peters noted, “Many of the enclosed fixtures in dormitories now have compact fluorescent lamps because we found out that the LEDs would burn out in a very short period of time.”
Another disadvantage of LED technology is the high cost. In theory, improvements in technology and developments in new innovations should reduce cost; however, LED lamps are an exception to this theory. Generally, LED lamps still cost ten times the amount of incandescent or fluorescent technology. However, for Choate, the cost of LED lamps has been exceptionally low. “For instance, one LED flood light at the PMAC cost $55, then the cost reduced to $33, which we thought was great they actually dropped to $7.50 a lamp with energy rebates. That is quite a difference in four years’ time. We haven’t had to change one of those lamps in the gallery for over four years now,” explained Mr. Peters.
According to Mr. Peters, there have been several challenges in installing the new LED technology in places around campus. For instance, all of the lights in the Hill House Dining Hall’s chandeliers were changed two summers ago. Different types of LED lights were tested in the many chandeliers, all of which had different dimmer switches, which are switches that adjust light levels. Given that these LED lights were so new, the manufacturer of these lamps “had virtually no technical support available to help” noted Mr. Peters. Stuck in a tough situation, Facilities Services had to almost switch gears and go back to incandescent lights. However, a dimmer switch suitable for the dining hall was finally found.
For members of the Facilities Services, changing the lights will require very little effort. The only challenge in this case comes in when these lamps require dimming capability, which incandescent and fluorescent lights have never had a problem with before at Choate.
