Lighting accounts for nearly 25% of California's electricity use, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has called for a 60 to 80% statewide reduction in electrical lighting consumption by 2020. The University of California, Davis was the first large institution in the state to answer the call.

SMART LIGHTING INITIATIVE

Motivated by the CPUC's plan, UC Davis instituted the Smart Lighting Initiative to reduce the campus's electricity use for lighting by 60% by the end of 2015. Installing energy-efficient lighting can lead to significant energy, maintenance, carbon, and economic savings, and since 2007, UC Davis has reduced lighting energy consumption by about 10%. UC Davis Smart Lighting projects are based on innovations developed or refined by CLTC designers and engineers and implemented by UC Davis Facilities Management. Many of the technologies highlighted at UC Davis were developed in partnership with the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program of the California Energy Commission.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE

UC Davis hopes to set an example through the Smart Lighting Initiative. Lighting innovations installed and demonstrated on campus are transferrable to a variety of spaces, including:

• universities
• K–12 campuses
• hospitals
• industrial areas
• commercial buildings
• federal and military facilities

The UC Davis Smart Lighting Initiative is a campuswide effort that includes Facilities Management, Student Affairs, Design and Construction Management, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, Capital Resource Management, and the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, in addition to CLTC.