In the ongoing effort to reduce the carbon footprint of Saint Ursula Academy, the school recently installed 5,500 LED lamps across the campus which will drastically increase energy efficiency and greatly reduce electricity costs.
Director of Facilities at Saint Ursula Academy, Kathleen Armstrong, worked closely with Donovan Energy, Diversified Facilities Solutions, and Richards Electric to plan the transition which involved replacing lamps, reusing fixtures, and minimizing installation costs. LED lamps were chosen because LED lamps and tubes not only consume a fraction of the energy consumed by fluorescent bulbs, but they also have a very long useful life and contain no mercury. All of these features were important to the overall plan.
Armstrong said, "With all of the sustainability effort we are rolling out at Saint Ursula Academy, this is just one of more initiative which helps us build a better world. We are thrilled to be on of the only academic organizations in the region to make the complete transition."
The installation took approximately eight weeks and involved all buildings on campus. Facilities team member Ed Listermann worked closely with all involved parties to ensure that everyone had the necessary information and equipment readily available to ease the transition. He personally installed most of the new LED lamps!
In the end, the cost savings to Saint Ursula Academy will be approximately $38,000 per year and the reduction in carbon emissions will see a savings of 425,841 lbs. of dioxide per year, which is the equivalent of removing 41 cars from the road or consuming 21,735 gallons of gasoline. This conversion also saves nearly eight work hours each week in which maintenance staff has traditionally replaced lightbulbs throughout the campus. This project supports the overall mission of Saint Ursula Academy to work together to build a better world, one LED lamp at a time.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2017 earned college scholarships totaling more than $21- million.
Source: Saint Ursula Academy
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