New Brunswick Lights Up Schools With LEDs

While LED retrofitting has buoyed the finances of many commercial organizations across the world, there are plenty of opportunities for the public sector to reinvest in itself by using LED technology. One of the areas that can benefit most substantially from an investment in more energy efficient lighting programs are schools throughout [city].

Local districts can see the benefit of projects like this by looking at the example set by the New Brunswick Schools District in New Jersey. The community, which houses 10 schools and is home to 10,000 students recently made the switch as part of a bigger push to reduce energy consumption across the board.

Revolution Lighting Technology has led the charge to retrofit each of the New Brunswick  Schools with more than 40,000 tube lighting fixtures. Each fixture consumes significantly less energy than the previously used incandescent lights, and they can cut the energy consumption by upwards of 41%.

The decision to invest in technology that will cut costs in the long run provides an excellent example for how schools in [city] can open up more funding for students in years to come. As budgets continue to shrink while school districts grow, the amount of money available per [city] student is not always sufficient to support their needs. By investing up front in technologies that have already seen a huge price decrease over the last several years, funds will become more available for educational necessities, after school programs, school lunch and other vital experiences for children throughout the city.

New Brunswick is leading the charge for school districts like [city]‘s to make the change, and they hold the distinction of being the first school district in the state to make the complete adjustment to the newer lighting options.

Beyond just the option for energy efficiency, the cost for operation of the bulbs is significantly less from a global sense. The 15-watt bulbs from Revolution Lighting Technology represent a huge decrease in the the amount of electricity necessary, but they also offer a decrease in the amount of sweat equity that has to go into their operation.

With 75,000 hours of use for each bulb, these bulbs could last long enough for current students to become adults and have children who then attend the same school– all before the lighting needs to be replaced. Additionally, they require less attention in general from maintenance staff, and because the bulbs so rarely have to be replaced, there is less of an out-of-pocket cost for regular purchase of materials. Though the bulbs are more expensive per unit, they are much less expensive than regularly replacing bulbs over the course of the LED lifecycle.

The retrofitting project is part of a larger, $16 million energy efficiency overhaul that is supposed to reduce dependance on the grid, natural gas and other consumables. Due to some substantial legwork up front, the school district was able to make all of the improvements without charging taxpayers. They also have the benefit of local tax credits that will mitigate upfront costs.

There is little question as to the value of these changes in the long run for the New Brunswick School District, and they can be just as valuable for educational centers across [city]. By working with one of our [city]-area specialists, local districts can determine how to cash in on the same benefits and similar local credits in order to save funds, cut down maintenance costs, and funnel the additional budgetary surplus to the students rather than the power company.