A switch to LED lighting is already paying off for North Carolina State University; energy costs in LED-lit facilities have been lowered by about 40 percent.

Advancing the university's commitment to evaluating and deploying LED lighting where it can improve light quality and provide energy and maintenance cost savings, NC State has installed LED lighting in the Dan Allen Parking Deck and LED can lighting in half of Bragaw Residence Hall.

In the student housing setting, the 730 LED lights are already providing a

44 percent reduction in energy use, which is significant given that they replaced relatively efficient fluorescent tube lights. Energy savings for the parking garage is projected to be about 32 percent, compared to the already efficient high intensity discharge (HID) lights that were replaced.

NC State is the inaugural member of the LED University program, at the invitation of Cree, Inc. Cree was founded by NC State alumni, based on their research at the university. The LED University program is an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs across their campuses.

"NC State is embracing LED lighting as an important part of our overall sustainability program. The new LED lights in the Dan Allen parking garage are providing dramatically improved lighting quality while cutting energy use by a third and significantly reducing maintenance costs," said Tom Kendig, director of transportation. "We plan to make energy-efficient LED lights the standard for all new parking decks."

According to Barry Olson, NC State's associate director of housing and facilities, "Bragaw residents are enjoying better light quality and our administrators are excited that these lights are providing energy savings of

44 percent. These two new LED installations are helping us prove the business model for a systematic campus wide upgrade to an environmentally friendly technology that also increases energy efficiency and lowers our maintenance costs."

Bragaw roommates Jared Welch and Andrew Wyker are pleased with the new lighting.

"The new LED lights look better and save energy. Plus, we can adjust the light levels so we can have full light or significantly less light if one of us is trying to sleep while the other is studying late," Wyker, a sophomore chemistry major, said. "They are bright, but not hot, and they don't break easily. We happened to break a light last year so it's an added bonus."

"I like that fact that we need only three small lights rather than those large old fluorescent tubes to light the whole room," says Welch, a junior who has resided in Bragaw for three years. "It's great that we can be a part of NC State's efforts to save energy and use innovative new technology for better lighting. If it looks better, saves energy and helps the university save money, then it's good for everyone."