A note from Rich Reis and the Building Team.

Replacing (almost) all lamps with Light Emitting Diode lamps (LEDs)

The Building Team replaced over 200 fluorescent lamps around WES. In all cases, replacement was just removing the old lamp and installing the new LED lamp in its place – no rewiring. In many cases, we also cleaned the glass or plastic lens and in a few cases, we had to repair the fixture.

About half of the lamps were 4-foot T8 tubes. We replaced them with linear LED lamps, reducing the power from 32 to 17 watts per lamp. Similarly 9 28-watt T5 lamps in the lobby were replaced with 22-watt LEDs.

There are about 80 downlights and outdoor lights at WES. Because the new lamps are directional, each uses only 12 watts and provides more light than the 32-watt compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) it replaces. Similarly, we replaced 20 26-watt CFLs with 5.5 watt LEDs.

The new lamps are expected to last 15 to 40 years. They run cooler (saving air conditioning cost) and come on instantly. By reducing our demand for electricity, we effectively reduce pollution at generating facilities.  

The total cost was $2,345 and will be paid back in just over 28 months with utility savings of $83 per month. John Kester, Genevieve McDowell, and Rich Reis implemented the project with valuable assistance from Tom Hutton and Balthazar Alaya.

John, Genevieve, and Rich are part of the Building Team; we have more challenges and opportunities to improve WES. We welcome new teammates; to join contact Rich at rich.reis1@gmail.com or 301-325-8001.