Project Title
LED Lighting in the 7th Street Cafe
Applicant(s)
Josh Berliner (‘15) (jvb009@bucknell.edu)
Zach Berliner (‘15) (zlb001@bucknell.edu)
Bryan Horowitz (‘16) (brh011@bucknell.edu)
Tim Kim (‘16) (tkwk001@bucknell.edu)
Stephen Durfee (Facilities, Campus Energy Manager) (spd006@bucknell.edu)
Project Description
We propose retrofitting the 42 incandescent light bulbs (each being either 60 or 75 watts) currently installed in
the 7th Street Cafe with LED lights (either 8 or 11 watts each). Using LED lights as opposed to incandescent
bulbs saves energy, reducing the demand for and consumption of fossil fuels, and with it the emission of
greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants. LEDs also have a much longer lifespan than incandescent
bulbs, reducing the need for replacement parts and maintenance. All of these benefits save money and
contribute to the economic sustainability of the University.
Project Origin
Due to our awareness of the LED Green Fund KLARC hall of fame lighting project implemented last semester,
we, as four active members of the Bucknell Environmental Club, wanted to continue making the campus more
sustainable by replacing inefficient light bulbs with much more efficient LED’s. Additionally, all four of us were
aware of the fact that 7th Street Cafe is open almost 24 hours a day for nearly the entire year and that the cafe
has very inefficient incandescent light bulbs. As a result, we realized that we could greatly improve the
efficiency of the cafe’s lighting and, in turn, reduce energy consumption and make campus more sustainable.
Project Endorsement
Stephen Durfee, Campus Energy Manager
David Eckley, Manager of Electrical Systems and Projects
Sustainability Benefits
● Due to their lower wattage load, LEDs consume less power than incandescent light bulbs. Therefore,
replacing the 7th Street Cafe bulbs with LEDs will decrease the buildings cafe electricity consumption,
thus saving money for the University and contributing to to economic sustainability
● The decrease in energy demand that will result from the installation of LEDs will also reduce the
demand for and combustion of fossil fuels at the co-generation plant. This lowers the emissions of
greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants associated with the combustion of natural gas, helping
to combat climate change and contributing to overall environmental sustainability
● LEDs have a much longer lifespan (estimated 30,000 hours) compared to the incandescent bulbs
(2,500 or 2,000 hours). Therefore, their installation and usage will dramatically reduce the demand for
replacement lamps. This would not only save Bucknell money (estimated at $1,505.06/yr) but would
also decrease the amount of resources consumed in the life cycle of each bulb (due to the reduction in
resources consumed and environmental impact generated via the raw materials extraction for,
manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of each bulb), thus contributing to economic and
environmental sustainability.
● During warmer times of the year, the air conditioning cost will decrease due to less heat being
generated by the incandescent bulbs.
● Putting in LED’s would also improve the safety conditions of the workers who have to climb up to
replace the light bulbs. By having to replace the bulb every 30,000 hours (every 4 years), as opposed to
every 2,500 or 2,000 hours (every 3 to 4 months), this enables the workers to significantly reduce the
amount of times they have to possibly risk their safety by climbing up to replace bulbs
Sustainability Promotion Opportunities
The retrofitting of the 7th Street Cafe with LED lighting provides a few opportunities for the promotion of
sustainable practices across campus:
●
●
●
This project can serve as an indicator of the feasibility of the installation of LED lighting at Bucknell.
Specifically, the data analysis comparing the energy and cost efficiency of the 7th Street Cafe lighting
before and after the installation of the LEDs can serve as a means of assessing the viability of LED
lighting elsewhere on campus. If deemed viable by this project, LED lighting can become more
prevalent on campus and make a larger impression on the campus community relating to sustainability.
Placards/signs can be placed in the 7th Street Cafe post-installation describing the project and the
sustainability benefits of LED lighting over incandescent light bulbs.
We can maintain an online running tally of the energy, money, and pollution savings generated daily,
weekly, monthly, etc. by the LED lighting (this information can be found in the attached spreadsheets
generated by Josh, Zach, Bryan, and Tim). This would give the campus community more of an insight
into how the sustainability of the project has been and will continue to be assessed and provide learning
opportunities to students and staff.
Projected Project Cost and Savings/Reinvestment Plan
(All figures are in U.S. $)
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Initial Installation Cost
751.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Incandescent Energy
Cost
-
LED Energy Cost
-
Energy Cost Savings
-
Incandescent
Replacement Cost
-
512.64
512.64
512.64
512.64
512.64
512.64
512.64
LED Replacement Cost
-
164.40
164.40
164.40
164.40
164.40
164.40
164.40
Replacement Cost
Savings
-
348.24
348.24
348.24
348.24
348.24
348.24
348.24
Total Savings Per Year
1,404.00 1,404.00 1,404.00
202.18
202.18
202.18
1,201.82 1,201.82 1,201.82
-751.00 1,550.06 1,550.06 1,550.06
1,404.00
202.18
1,201.82
1,550.06
1,404.00 1,404.00
202.18
202.18
1,201.82 1,201.82
1,550.06 1,550.06
1,404.0
0
202.18
1,201.8
2
1,550.0
6
Standard Bucknell conversion rates are available on the Green Fund Website (http://www.bucknell.edu/x64749.xml).
Estimated Total Cost ($): 751.00
Estimated Annual Savings ($): 1,201.82
Simple Payback (Years): 0.62
Annual
Replacement
Bulb Savings
(in # of bulbs)
Annual
Energy
Savings
(kWh)
Cost of
Installation
Annual
Gross
Energy
Savings
Simple
Payback
Period (in
years)
Gross
Seven Year
Savings
Net Seven Year
Saving (Green
Fund
Contribution)
118
18,490
$751.00
$1,201.82
.062
$8,412.74
$7,661.74
Additional Data Points required to calculate cost / saving:
The LED lights have a 4 year useful life, compared to the current incandescent useful life of 0.3 to 0.4 years.
We assumed that the price of energy is $0.065 kW.