The Sandler Neurosciences project, completed in December of 2020, consisted of replacing all outdated lighting fixtures in the building with LED bulbs in order to reduce electrical consumption and cost. UCSF contracted Sylvania Lighting Solutions to remove the outdated ballasts from necessary lighting fixtures and replace them with LED bulbs and corresponding drivers.
Background
The Sandler Neuroscience building is located at 675 Nelson Rising Ln on the Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, CA. It is a 237,000 Ft^2 medical research laboratory building constructed in 2012, with electricity provided by UCOP and natural gas provided by PG&E. The goal of this project was to upgrade all fluorescent bulbs in the building with LED bulbs. LED bulbs are wired differently than fluorescent bulbs, and do not require an electrical ballast. They operate on direct current which makes them last longer and reduce energy expenditure. Given that many ballasts in the building were failing in the Sandler building, it was an ideal time to replace the lighting with energy efficient bulbs in order to prevent unnecessary energy loss.
Results
Following implementation, the project has yielded an estimated savings of 416,855 kWh per year which equates to about $55,000 in savings.
