Students Fight Global Warming One Light Bulb at a Time

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A light bulb exchange program that encourages students to trade in their old incandescent bulbs for energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is reaping economic and environmental benefits for the University at Buffalo only months after the initial launch.

The program, which was rolled out in the Ellicott Complex on UB's North (Amherst) Campus this fall, so far has replaced about 400 old-style bulbs with new power-sipping CFLs. Officials in charge of the project expect it to expand to the Governors and South (Main Street) Campus residence halls in the fall 2007 semester.

"We got a lot of responses, about 100 or so, right off the bat," says Garry Soehner, associate director for residential student services, University Residence Halls and Apartments (URHA). "The students that I spoke to said, 'This is great. We're happy with the bulbs.'"

The success of the program is being reported during a semester in which the university is celebrating its longstanding leadership among American colleges and universities in reducing energy consumption through extensive and innovative conservation measures, research and teaching and in promoting alternative energy sources under the theme "A Greener Shade of Blue" http://www.buffalo.edu/greener_ub.

Typical CFLs are about 75 percent more efficient in terms of power consumption than incandescent bulbs and last at least 10 times longer -- between 7,500 to 50,000 hours, compared to 750 to 1,000 for an incandescent. The "minispiral" bulbs chosen for the residence halls were purchased through a local distributor from W.W. Grainger Inc. and are Energy Star compliant, meeting energy-efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.

"By changing 400 incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents, students will be saving over $2,000 a year in electricity costs," says Walter Simpson, UB energy office and director of the UB Green Office. "This reduction in energy consumption will reduce global warming emissions by 23 tons of carbon dioxide annually -- the equivalent climate-change benefit of taking four cars off the road. "That may not sound like a lot," he notes, "but it is, considering how easy it is to change a light bulb."

The free bulbs were advertised to students via email and distributed directly to student residences by student employee contacts on the URHA's "recycle team" -- about a dozen part-time student assistants who help with conservation and recycling efforts in the residence halls.

"I expect that the response will be even greater in the fall," says Soehner, noting that several students living in residence halls other than those participating in the official pilot project also received bulbs as talk about the project spread beyond Ellicott.

Although the CFLs used in the UB project cast a whiter, costlier light than certain other types of compact fluorescent bulbs, Soehner points out that the bulbs still cost as little as $2 to $3 each because UB purchases in bulk. Simpson estimates the program will pay for itself in less than 12 months. Plus, the environmental benefit of the bulbs persists for as long as students continue to use them.

"We wanted to provide them bulbs that were good for reading," says Soehner, noting that most of the replaced bulbs came from gooseneck-style lamps used to study. "I think if we hadn't done that we would have found the students going back to the regular incandescent bulbs."

The program also is an important step in extending power savings in the residence halls to student-purchased lamps. "We already used compact fluorescents for everything we buy," says Soehner. Fluorescent bulbs are standard in UB-issued floor lamps in offices, lounges and other public areas in the residence halls.

Moreover, Soehner, a member of the Environmental Task Force, points to several other projects recently implemented in the residence halls to reduce waste. In spring 2005, for instance, URHA began a textbook recycling campaign that makes a contribution to the American Cancer Society for each textbook that is re-used or recycled. "Last year," he says, "we were one of the highest of participating schools, which resulted in total donations of over $10,000."

In addition, a project called "One Person's Trash Is Another Person's Treasure," an expanded version of an earlier program designed to spare furniture, appliances and other re-useable items from the trash heap as students leave the residence halls in the summer, was launched in 2006.

Bill Bagley, a maintenance assistant in Facilities Operations, says the overall reduction in waste has been so significant that two fewer 30-yard dumpsters were sent to collect trash in the residence halls last summer, compared to 2005.

"There's been a big push to reduce waste in all areas," Bagley says.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York.