IUPUI is Indiana's premier urban research university. The campus enrolls more than 30,000 students in 21 schools and academic units.
Campus Facility Services Continues to Reduce IUPUI's Carbon Footprint
\Everyone loves history, right? Well, here's a little history lesson about the IUPUI University Library. Construction began on the library in 1990 and was occupied in 1993. It cost $32,000,000 to build and it contains 288,252 gross square feet. Interestingly, the library was built without lighting controls in the public areas so the lights remain on all the time. What a huge energy drain!
Campus Facility Services has been working for years to come up with an affordable solution to this problem. And the problem has finally been resolved! Thanks to new technology the lights in the stacks and the perimeter will be turned off on a schedule. Safety lighting that is on 24/7 will not be affected and will remain on at all times. The schedule can be changed as the needs of the Library change for finals, holidays or other breaks. The lighting can also be overridden at any time for any length of time.
Installation of the new lighting controls began on November 30th on the fourth floor of the library [are they complete or when will they be?]. John Kamman, CFS Energy Engineer stated that "this project has been a long time in coming. We are delighted that a cost efficient resolution was available and we are able to implement it now. The campus will realize significant energy savings through this project."
David Lewis, Dean of the University Library, remarked that "the fact that most of the lights in the library cannot be turned off certainly has the appearance of being a waste of energy, as I suspect it is. We regularly get questions from concerned students and staff asking if there is anything that can be done." Dean Lewis added, "It is interesting that when the building was being designed nearly 20 years ago, that the cost of switching was viewed as being a more critical factor than the cost of the energy. Now, of course, it is the other way around. I am pleased to see the matter being addressed."
Installation of lighting controls in the library is just one example of the ways that Campus Facility Services is looking to reduce the campus's energy consumption and, ultimately our impact on the environment.
