by Shane Henson — December 23, 2013—Cree LED recently announced that several of its light-emitting diode (LED) products have been chosen by North Carolina State University (NC State) to help light up its Wolf Ridge at Centennial residence hall while bringing energy costs down.
NC State says that when it sought a lighting solution for Wolf Ridge at Centennial, the university’s first residence hall planned for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification, they chose LED lighting from Cree to help the building achieve the rigorous certification and significantly reduce energy and maintenance costs.
Luminaires installed in two of the project’s six buildings are already delivering positive results, university officials say. Powered by Cree TrueWhite Technology, the luminaires reportedly deliver excellent color quality, creating more inviting and better lit environments for student residents while significantly reducing the school’s operational expenses compared to outdated lighting technologies.
“We’ve received nothing but positive feedback from our student residents, especially when they learn about the energy efficiency of the LED fixtures and that lighting maintenance requests are a thing of the past,” said Dr. Barry Olson, director of business administration for campus life at NC State.
As documented in a Web page on the NC State project, when fully completed, the six-building project will utilize more than 4,000 luminaires from Cree’s LED lighting portfolio. The hallways and stairwells are lit with Cree CR22 and CR24 LED architectural troffers and the Cree CR Series Light Engine (LE), reportedly offering beautiful light quality and significant energy savings.
The apartments’ interior space features the Cree SL24 LED Surface Linear luminaire, providing high-quality illumination in a versatile design that installs in minutes. Additionally, the university was so impressed with the light quality in previous Cree LED lighting installations around campus that it installed Cree CR6 LED downlights in the Wolf Ridge bathrooms.
“The installation at NC State is a testament to the positive impact on students and staff when high-quality lighting is installed,” said Mike Bauer, vice president of lighting sales at Cree. “Students and faculty can feel good about the mercury-free LED lighting replacing the old fluorescent fixtures and the additional energy savings, all helping to create a substantially beneficial environmental impact.”
