As part of an aggressive energy plan launched earlier this summer, California State University, Fresno today (June 25) begins trimming its electrical demand by removing half of the lights in all classrooms and offices and installing new, high-efficiency fluorescent lamps.
Servi-Tech Controls Inc. is performing the service over the next six to eight weeks, announced Dick Smith, director of Utility Management in Fresno State’s Plant Operations.
“This is part of our strategy to reduce the potential for rotating power outages to the university,” said Smith, adding that Pacific Gas & Electric incentives will pay for 60 to 70 percent of the de-lamping project.
This summer the university has employed several measures to comply with PG&E’s curtailment program, which exempts institutions from rotating outages if they reduce their load by 15 percent during every rotating outage period.
Additionally, the university has been operating under a new summer hours schedule that opens the campus at 7 a.m. and closes most offices by 3:30 p.m. and a team of five students has been visiting campus offices to advise employees on ways to save energy.
The de-lamping project involves ten Servi-Tech Controls employees in crews of two going from room to room, removing old lamps, cleaning the fixtures and installing the new, high-efficiency lamps in just a matter of minutes in each room, Smith said.
“This will involve minimal disruption to employees as each station should take about 10 to 15 minutes,” he said.
Most offices have anyone where from one to three lamps while classrooms have more. The crews are beginning with the Plant Operations and agricultural operations buildings on Barstow. The first academic classrooms to be modified are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in the Social Science Building.
The energy conservation plan, formulated by Plant Operations and its Utility office and approved by President John D. Welty, was circulated within the campus community during the spring semester for feedback, said Robert Boyd, director of Plant Operations. The university’s academic deans reviewed the plan and approved its contents, Boyd added.
The plan is intended to reduce the demand on the substation circuit feeding the university by 1.25 megawatts. During the summer the university uses 8.1 megawatts.
The plan is being considered as a model by other organizations including Fresno Pacific University, Westlands Water, the State Center Community College District, the County of Fresno, Guardian Glass, the Kings River Conservation District and PPG Industries.
The university’s summer energy plan is available at www.fresnostatenews.com. For details, contact Smith or Boyd at 278-2373.
