The West Center became greener from light emitting diode (LED) light installations that are “far more energy efficient, more environmentally friendly and also had cost savings,” said Laura Johnson, the West Center associate director of operations.
“The lights in both the atrium and gym area were becoming a problem and it was even hard for us to find replacement parts,” Johnson said.
She said that the West Center staff worked with Facilities and Management on the light replacement project, starting in fall 2017 with the atrium. LED lights were installed in the gym in May 2018. Each installment took 2 days.
Both installations cost under $73,000 with assistance provided by the South Carolina Energy Office.
“The SC Energy Office was able to assist us in a ConserFund loan, a loan through them for energy savings projects. In the long run, our energy savings will pay back the loan,” Johnson said.
The West Center is LEED Silver certified, meaning it was recognized by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, “the most widely used green building rating system in the world,” according to its website.
“In order to achieve that, when the building was built, it had to comply with several requirements including building materials, water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environment quality, etc,” Johnson said.
For example, “At least 50 percent of the building materials contain high-recycled content. At minimum, 20 percent of the building materials were manufactured locally or regionally, and 75% of the construction waste was diverted from local landfills,” according to the Winthrop University webpage on the West Center.
LED lights are more efficient than incandescent lights because they produce light 90 percent more efficiently than their counterparts, according to ENERGY STAR, a government-supported brand that informs consumers about energy efficiency. LED lights also dim overtime, instead of just burning out or failing.
“LEDs are ‘directional’ light sources, which means they emit light in a specific direction, unlike incandescent and CFL, which emit light and heat in all directions. That means LEDs are able to use light and energy more efficiently in a multitude of applications,” according to ENERGY STAR.
The only other sustainable additions to the West Center was a water filter some time last academic year. Johnson said that there are no improvements scheduled.
