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libraryledAs public schools throughout the United States and [city] get more and more crowded by the day, budgets get smaller by the minute. Our schools systems barely have sufficient funds to supply students with up-to-date textbooks. There is hardly an educator in the world who wouldn’t be ecstatic to find extra money in the budget to be able to offer much needed supplies, assistance and opportunities to students everywhere, including [city]. It’s possible, however, that schools throughout [city] and the nation have the ability to cut their energy bills and bolster the already constrained budgets.

The cost of LED lighting fixtures has come down substantially over the last decade. By retrofitting fixtures throughout [city] schools while also focusing on LED technology in new school construction, administrators could reduce lighting costs by as much as 75 percent over current usage. Lighting alone can (and often does) make up 40 percent of an electricity bill for high consumption facilities like schools.

School buildings tend to use linear bulbs and older-style fixtures that require regular replacement. The fixtures are not particularly expensive, and they provide a substantial amount of light to classrooms, common areas and more. These lights, however, may need to be replaced yearly in some cases. Replacing bulbs requires attention from already overworked maintenance staff to ensure that classrooms are properly lit for instruction and safety.

Those bulbs, though they are not particularly expensive per unit, have costs that add up after several replacements.

When considering cost savings, however, the most important thing to remember about school lighting fixtures is that they do not have to be run for the entirety of the day. [city] schools represent one of the few locations of higher energy consumption that only require lighting in buildings for 8 to 10 hours per day at most. Not all classrooms and areas host after school activities, and, for the most part, the main areas of public campuses are empty by 6 p.m. If we’re being generous, we can estimate that the buildings will not be used for 12 hours per day. From 6 in the evening to 6 the next morning (and possibly longer), lights can be turned off completely.

When you’re working with bulbs that are rated for up to 100,000 hours of use, and you’re fitting them in [city] buildings that are opened for, at most, 12 hours per day, 5 days per week, the bulbs would be running for 60 hours over 7 days. Additionally, most schools are only in session full-time for 40 weeks per year. This means that lights are on for approximately 2,400 hours per year. Bulbs rated for 100,000 hours have the potential to last for more than 40 years! Obviously, these numbers are based on minimum usage, but the perks only grow when you consider what you already know about the substantial amount of energy consumption that lighting usually represents. Forty percent of the consumption comes from light fixtures. Energy efficient options can significantly reduce consumption while providing a level of control over usage that can’t be attained by lights that are only controlled from a switch while standing nearby.

There are opportunities for cost savings in [city] schools that can last for nearly half a century without substantial adjustment to facilities. In fact, by the time these bulbs are ready to be changed, school may be a totally different beast for our students than it is for the current generation. While the initial financial output has to be considered, the return on investment usually pays of within one to two years. Beyond that, the savings go back into the school coffers to benefit students over electricity companies.

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