McCormick Center and Elwell Hall undergo lighting project

BU was awarded $250,000 as part of the PA Conservation Works! (PACW) Grant Program, which is funded by the DOE’s Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The primary program goals include increasing energy efficiency, creation of new jobs, and improving air quality. This project also supports many of the Keystone Principles for Growth, Investment and Resource Conservation.

BU’s Grant Application scope of work included a lighting upgrade project for Elwell Hall and McCormick Center. The project was based on the results of an Energy Building Audit conducted by Siemen’s and BU Facilities Management Personnel.

Consideration was given to future scheduled renovation projects in both buildings. The majority of the existing lighting fixtures in corridors and stairwells of both buildings consist of T12 lamps with magnetic ballasts. The project replaced the existing T-12 lighting systems with T-8 systems with electronic ballasts that use approximately half the energy.

Turnkey cost for this scope of work was $236,964. This project was completed as a change order to an existing Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement project with Siemen’s. Energy savings are projected at 392,724 kWh/year.

At $0.08745 kWh this would be $34,343.71/year in savings. The scope of work included installing new lighting fixtures in McCormick (except for those areas that are to be renovated), new lighting fixtures in the corridors of Elwell, and new lighting fixtures in the stairwells of Elwell. This project also supports BU’s efforts to help reduce the harmful emissions (Nox, SO2 and CO2) associated with the production of electricity. #BUSustainability