Relighting Shows Off Campuses In the Best Possible Light

From academics to location and cost, students—and even parents—look at many factors that influence a decision to attend specific institutions. And, unlike books, a campus is often judged by its cover. Campus renovation and maintenance is essential to ensure an environment that fosters education, and one that keeps students, parents, staff and alumni attracted to the facility and provides a sense of security.

While it can be daunting to keep up with the latest technology and trends, one simple way to upgrade a campus is with lighting. Taking a high-traffic area of campus and upgrading the lighting can provide a stunning visual impact for visitors and users of the space, while also reducing maintenance and energy costs.

Case in Point

Clayton State University recognized a need for a lighting upgrade during its recent gym renovation.

Take for example Clayton State University (CSU) in Morrow, Ga. Institution leadership and facilities directors of CSU are committed to continually upgrading the campus to provide a state of the art learning environment. CSU recognized a need for a lighting upgrade during its recent gym renovation.

“The light levels with our previous lighting were low and uneven and needed improvements for high-level competitive basketball,” says Darren Thomas, director of Facilities Management. “Additionally, we were using a lighting system that required significant lamp and ballast maintenance.”

The maintenance team was constantly replacing the HID lamps, which involved a complicated process to cover the gym floor and reach the lighting. When CSU had a power surge in the building, it would cause the HID lamps to go out and could take up to 15 minutes for them to re-strike and provide full illumination. Plus, they only achieved 25 foot-candles in some areas, which prevented CSU sporting events from being televised. NCAA requires gym lighting to achieve 100 foot-candles in a gymnasium to air on broadcast television.

CSU’s facilities team started looking at all lighting options and focused on:

a. Cost
b. Maintenance: floor prep for lift, bulb and ballast replacement and labor
c. Quality of lighting
d. Efficiency
e. Better re-strike timing
f. Warranty and life expectancy

Additionally, there was minimal flexibility with the previous lighting system. No matter what the event, the lighting was either on or off. The staff did not have the option to customize and adjust the light levels according to the activities.

Eighty-five new LED high bay luminaires enabled the school to increase the light quality from 25 foot-candles to 100 foot-candles and meet the requirements for Class I televised sports.

CSU commissioned Lighting Associates Inc. (LAi) to help determine the best solution for the gymnasium. LAi conducted a number of lighting studies and presented CSU with numerous layouts. After reviewing, CSU was convinced the next step was an LED trial run with four Lithonia Lighting I-BEAM LED high bay luminaires from Acuity Brands.

CSU facilities leaders liked what they saw, but needed to get the university administration to buy into it as well. The CSU facilities team, led by Harun Biswas, assistant vice president of CSU Facilities Management, evaluated a variety of economic and project implementation options to understand the total cost impact of the project.

As the next phase of evaluation, the facilities team proceeded with a trial installation of one row of LED luminaires. The administration, staff, coaches and players were all able to see the positive effect of the new lighting plan.

Once the economics made sense and the stakeholders could see the impact, the facilities team got the green light to relight the gymnasium.