University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas is a public, doctoral research university with a Division III athletic program. The university offers 138 academic programs, with eight schools and 50 research programs and institutes.

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82%

ENERGY SAVINGS

$286k

LIFETIME SAVINGS

DLC

LISTED

The Problem

The multi-purpose gymnasium—used for DIII basketball games, morning yoga, graduations, career fairs, and just about anything else at the university requiring a large open space—was dimly lit by old metal halides. In addition to the poor light output from the metal halides, they were inefficient—using over 20,000 kWh per month.

There weren’t luminaire level controls, so to create scenes for events, the staff had to climb special lifts up to the ceiling and partially unscrew the bulbs. The same lifts were used to replace the bulbs every 20 months! With lift rentals as high as $1500 and another $500 in labor costs, replacing lights and settings “scenes” could easily escalate to over $20,000 per year. In addition to wasting time and money, the lifts posed serious safety concerns replacing bulbs suspended over 30 feet off the ground.

Concerns

The space didn’t follow the same schedule every day, so all the lights were just left on all day, wasting energy. The new system needed the ability to easily create and update robust scenes and schedules. As the needs and uses of the space changed, the new system needed to change with it.

The Solution

RAB’s RAIL high bay fixtures were placed over the court, and SHARK washdown fixtures were placed in the mezzanine. The fixtures are rated for 27 years, so the ceiling lifts can be put away for quite a while. Lightcloud Controllers on each fixture allow for luminaire level control, so scenes were created for each use. For basketball games, the bleachers are dimmed, and the court is set to 100%. For graduation, there’s a spotlight look for the stage. Lights can even be dimmed for 5am yoga meditation. Scheduling and phone apps make it easy to create the perfect lighting environment while saving energy.

Results

Not only are the lighting and controls better, the system is saving tons of energy, nearly 17,000 kWh per month! When the system was designed, RAB estimated energy savings of 70%. Despite careful efforts to be as accurate as possible, the actual savings weren’t 70%—they were 82%! Over the life of the system, the university is going to save $286,000*!

These savings don’t take into account lift rentals or utility rebates, which can be huge. RAB RAILs, SHARKs, and Lightcloud are all DLC listed for additional incentives and rebates.

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Project Details

Client: The University of Texas at Dallas

Distributor: Sean Walters, Regency Lighting

Rep: Tad Alison, Alison & Co.

The ability to adjust each light individually has helped create specific lighting configurations for various events, such as graduations, career fairs, and athletic events.

Tricia LosavioDirector of Recreational Sports

Our in-game experience has improved. We are now able to dim the lights for introductions and the brightness is greater, making it better for video broadcasts and photography.

Bill PetitDirector of Athletics

The new lighting system has really updated the look and feel of our gym courts.

Tricia LosavioDirector of Recreational Sports