CSUCI Receives Award For Sustainable Lighting

Camarillo, CA---California State University Channel Islands earned recognition for its sustainable lighting practices at the Seventh Annual CSU/UC/Community College Sustainability Conference. More than 1,000 people attended the conference that was held July 31 through Aug. 3 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

CSUCI was one of eight California State University campuses recognized for efforts in areas such as building retrofits and operations, green buildings, sustainable transportation and student sustainability programs. The award CSUCI received specifically recognized the University for 2008 Best Practice in the category of Lighting and Controls for its work in retrofitting portions of the campus with efficient and sustainable exterior lighting.

“CSUCI is committed to sustainability in all of our facilities projects. Our primary areas of focus are long-term energy efficiency; and durability of buildings, materials, and systems to reduce future maintenance and replacement needs,” said Deborah Wylie, Associate Vice President of Operations, Planning & Construction at CSUCI.

In 2007, CSUCI’s Operations Planning & Construction area installed new exterior lighting in the University’s South Quad and in other areas of the campus. The new lighting is energy efficient and uses 42 percent less electricity to provide the same amount of light as the lighting fixtures and bulbs it replaced. The new lighting also is much more sustainable—the new bulbs last approximately 100,000 hours, replacing bulbs that last an average of 10,000 hours.

In the upcoming months the University will continue its efforts toward a more sustainable campus by distributing reclaimed water throughout campus for irrigation; constructing a central plant for efficient distribution of utilities; and make additional upgrades to improve interior lighting efficiency.

The Best Practice Awards are funded by the UC/CSU/IOU Energy Efficiency Partnership Program, a unique state-wide partnership between the UC and CSU campuses and California’s four large investor-owned utilities. For more information and the complete list of 2008 Best Practice Award Winners visit http://www.greenbuildings.berkeley.edu/best_practices.htm.

For more information about this award contact Ceal Potts, Communication Specialist at CSUCI, 805-437-8940 or cecilia.potts@csuci.edu.