Go Green: Reducing Energy Use With Lighting

At St. Ann's Community, the lights are almost always on.  That's why it's important they are as efficient as possible. 

"Green is about a reduction of the carbon footprint, low carbon emissions, it's about saving energy.  Everyone is excited about saving energy.   They are trying to find ways to reduce energy consumption because that is what we call the low hanging fruit in the building," says Bill Gauthier of Jacomb LLC.   
 
Gauthier started the company Jacomb last October and focuses on installing intelligent lighting systems.  St. Ann's had him come in to study their lighting needs.  Then with some incentives from their energy company, they redesigned their lighting system. 

"We will use dimming technology to try and hit our target of at least 50% to 75% reduction in our lighting load," says Gauthier.   Sensors turn the lights down when rooms aren't being used.  They also dim the lights in rooms that have a lot of natural light.  In the offices, workers have the ability to turn lights down when needed  "So it's more comfortable, not so harsh for them. They have the ability to control in whatever they do," says Chuck Skellen of St. Ann's Community.

The savings should really add up.   At St. Ann's they put in 1,860 new fixtures.  "With an old facility like this, it's nice to try and reduce your carbon footprint and go a little bit green.  It's a step in the right direction, It's a small part of a bigger picture," says Skellen.  

Another part of the picture, the actual bulbs themselves.  Gauthier says this system helps them last longer too.   "We're not doing harsh switching on them, we're actually doing soft dimming.  So the longevity of the tubes and ballast here will actually lenghthen life to 5-10 years instead of maybe two or three."