The UC Santa Cruz campus has just earned yet another “green” building award for sustainable practices.
The latest honor, the Best Practice Lighting Award, recognizes the extraordinary amount of electricity the university will save each year because of its recent retrofit of the Science & Engineering Library.
The award was presented to UCSC energy manager Patrick Testoni and UCSC energy analyst Andy Shatney at the 2011 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference at Long Beach State this summer. The award is a plate made from 100% recycled glass.
The retrofit reduced the building’s annual electrical usage by 400,000 kWh, which amounts to 40% of the total usage of the building. Aside from being good for the environment, the retrofit saves an estimated annual $48,000. In other words, the project, which cost a total of $225,000, completed in mid-March, will pay for itself in only a few years.
This project was also recognized for innovative lighting design software that facilitates better lighting and reduces electrical usage, and for-using cutting edge wireless day-lighting controls.
"This project was an excellent energy efficiency project that was a partnership between PG&E, UCSC Physical Plant staff, and UCSC Library staff,," Testoni said. "We were able to cut the lighting energy demand in half for the building, and provide better lighting for the occupants. The excellent communication between UCSC staff minimized problems and allowed this project to take the next step."
UCSC continues to partnering with PG&E, other University of California campuses, and various California State University campuses to reduce its carbon footprint through energy efficiency.
