Solar Powered Building & Lighting
Filed Under Environment Friendly Outdoor Lighting, Solar lighting | Leave a Comment
The new Ohlone College campus in Newark CA is nearing completion with the campus is scheduled to open for classes in January 2008.
The site will be the first “green” campus in the nation, designed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) [Note 1] Gold or Platinum level certification when the building opens for classes in 2008.
The building has been built to the highest standards of environmental sustainability using best practices of energy conservation. Interestingly, only around 50 buildings in the world have achieved Platinum certification todate.
We suggest that solar electricity is a sensible choice for outdor lighting and Ohlone has gone to town in asolar sense - they have installed 1585 Photovoltaic panels (PVP) on the building’s roof that will provide up to 50% of the building’s energy needs!
Not surprisingly, this is currently the largest installation of PVP panels in the Silicon Valley.
Also of note, as part of the environmental design that qualifies for LEED recognition, the college is using an exterior lighting system with cutoff fixtures to maximize landscape lighting whilst eliminating light pollution in the neighborhood.
Again, the issues of energy consumption and light pollution are imortant design factors in your landscape lighting system. Your objective should be to minimize both aspects.
Note 1: The LEED green building rating system is developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council and is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.
The LEED rating system offers four certification levels for new construction — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Stay tuned for information on environmentally friendly outdoor lighting and solar lighting systems.
Efficient LED Solar Outdoor Lighting
Filed Under Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, Solar Landscape Lighting | Leave a Comment
Here is another example of why you should consider solar landscpae lighting for energy efficient and environmentally friendly outdoor lighting, such as LED outdoor lights.
Bonita FL is considering a city ordinance to limit bright outdoor lighting in residential areas of Bonita Springs.
The limits would be in effect between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. During that time outdoor lights would need to be:
- Directional so no light shines onto a neighbor’s property.
- Limited in wattage i.e. brightness and power consumption.
The new regulations are meant to limit two things:
- Light pollution — the kind that interferes with a clear view of the night sky.
- The air pollution that comes from burning fuels to generate the electricity to power the lights.
There would be some exemptions to the new rules and some landscape lighting would still be allowed.
We suggest you take a look at LED outdoor lights for solar landscape lighting because they are:
- Energy efficient and so work well with solar power
- Compact
- Bright
- Reliable/long lived
Here’s an example of a motion Sensing LED light with a 1W Luxeon® LED that includes a solar panel.
Its a great LED/solar based solution to environmentally friendly outdoor lighting.