Lycoming College

Lycoming College is a private school situated along the Susquehanna River in Lycoming county Pennsylvania.  The inception of this college dates back to 1812, which makes this one of the nation’s oldest institutions.  As with most colleges, they have a combination of older and newer buildings. As expected, most of the lighting systems installed in their facilities were older, out of date technologies that were very inefficient in terms of their energy (electrical) consumption.

Faced with antiquated technology, insufficient lighting levels and rising utilities costs, the Facilities Department realized the potential energy savings the college could benefit from by implementing a lighting retrofit in their buildings.  But like many colleges they are faced with “Where do we get the capital for the  project?” 

PP&L Energy Services (a division of PP&L) and Atlantic Energy Concepts, a lighting services company, met with the Facilities Director to explain what makes a lighting only upgrade so attractive. It’s simple, simple payback that is.  Lighting savings can easily be quantified unlike other energy conservation measures with paybacks in the range of three to four years.  That means that they would reap the energy savings benefits much faster than almost any other energy-related upgrade.  As with most Energy Service Company agreements, Atlantic Energy Concepts guarantees the energy savings that a facility will receive from implementing a lighting systems retrofit.

Once the college decided a lighting retrofit was an avenue they would like to pursue they had PP&L and Atlantic Energy conduct an in-depth energy audit of their buildings. This audit identified all of the various types of lighting and number of fixtures used in the buildings.  As with any educational institution they did not want to jeopardize the comfort level for their faculty, staff and students.  Atlantic Energy Concepts adheres to the lighting guidelines recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), a professional and technical organization that sets standards in the lighting industry. 

The design was tailored to incorporate the tasks performed in each of the buildings.  The lighting system for each building optimized energy-efficiency,  improved overall lighting quality and reduced maintenance costs.  Along with the new lighting system, the college had occupancy sensors installed in common areas and public spaces such as bathrooms and storage areas. The sensors will automatically turn off lights when the rooms are not occupied thus saving additional money for the college.  This new lighting system will reduce Lycoming College energy costs by $103,531 annually.

Old lamps, ballasts and PCB ballasts were sent to an EPA licensed recycling center where their components are separated for reuse and recycling.  PCB’s ballast were destroyed to prevent any future liabilities for the College.