Western Herald

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Karie Kuiper The student recreation center converted its lighting to energy-saving halogen lights in the fall of 2002.

Over the past two decades people in the United States have made a huge push for cleaner air, more beautified land and fresher water. Understanding people's desires for a healthier planet, the EPA and other governmental agencies have made significant efforts to clean up the world around us.

Recently, Western Michigan University jumped on the bandwagon in the efforts to clean up its act.

Since 1996 WMU has been making changes all around campus to conserve energy and help the environment.

"In the last 12 years we've had a cost avoidance of $18 million because of our efforts to be environmentally friendly," said Carl Newton, WMU's energy reduction manager. "I'm a corporate tree-hugger. I am concerned with the way we're saving energy," Newton said.

In the fall of 2000, WMU became an Energy Star partner, meaning that all of the appliances and equipment it purchases will reach Energy Star standards whenever possible. The products that reach the Energy Star standards require 25 to 50 percent less power than products that don't meet them.

WMU's heating and cooling systems have also been revamped to conserve energy. In 2001, WMU developed the Temperature Set-Point Policy for all campus buildings.

The policy calls for buildings to be heated to 69 degrees during the winter months and air conditioned to 75 degrees during the summer months when they are being used by professors and students. Sensors in the buildings allow for room temperatures to drop or rise two degrees depending on the season when rooms are not being occupied to save some energy. On nights, weekends and holidays the set-point temperatures decrease even more to conserve energy further.

In 2002, the Student Recreation Center began to rework its lighting system throughout the building. The SRC began trading out its metal halide fixtures with new fluorescent lamp fixtures. The new fixtures allow for maximum light output throughout the life of the lamp, less maintenance and repair, and they dim on their own when the space they're in is unoccupied.

Another process WMU is using to conserve energy is daylight harvesting. This allows sensors in the buildings around campus to recognize a sufficient amount of daylight coming through windows so the lights can either dim or turn off.

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