Ohio Northern University has made a big investment commitment that aims to make the campus more energy efficient.
During their last bonds deal, the college invested $3.6 million into replacing the lighting systems in eight buildings to LED. These include the King Horn Stadium and Freed Center of Performing Arts.
The 400+ exterior lamp posts throughout the campus will also be redone. This will create a safer and more enjoyable atmosphere, especially at night. The project is expected to give the university up to 70% efficiency gains, which will pay for itself within 6 years.
"We're anticipating savings around $300-400,000 in the first year, and $400-500,000 in the second year of electricity and gas consumption reductions from these projects," says Jason Broge, the Vice President of Finance and Administration at ONU. "So, we're really excited about that, because that's like for us is 20% less in energy consumption just from this investment."
Upgraded HVAC systems are also in the energy saving project. All the new technologies will require less maintenance in upcoming years, again contributing to savings.
"The majority of them have a lot longer life expectancy. LEDs nowadays, it just depends on the fixtures, but they do have a lot longer shelf life and utilization rate," Broge explains. "Over time it's just going to yield tremendous amounts of energy savings, reducing our carbon footprint which is what we're all about here. Really trying to get to the point where our sustainability tilt towards what we do here at ONU."
Contractors are working to get most of the project finished this summer, but it should be fully in service by next year.
