CSUMB wins energy efficiency honor
Salinas Californian 5/10/07
The student-created Energy Innovations Fund program, aimed at improving energy efficiency and sustainability, has received a statewide award.
Created by students in 2006, the EIF's objective is to implement energy-saving projects throughout campus using donations from the university community.
CSUMB won the 2007 Best Practice Awards competition in the category of Student Sustainability Programs. The award is given annually by the University of California/California State Uni-
versity Energy Efficiency Partnership Program.
"We were all excited to hear the news that we'd won the award," said Tristan Mansson-Perrone, a junior at CSUMB who co-founded the program. "We've put a lot of effort into this, and it's great to see it get this recognition."
So far, the EIF has completed a renovation of the lighting in the basketball gym at the Otter Sports Center to more environmentally friendly and less-costly light fixtures.
Expensive, energy-consuming sodium fixtures once flooded the gym with yellow light.
Today, all 36 have been replaced with fluorescent fixtures that use less than half the wattage and will save the school an estimated $3,096 per year.
The upgrade cost was originally $11,160, but an incentive offered by the state's UC and CSU systems cut that to $4,500.
"The quality of light in the center is a lot better now. It used to be yellow, and now it's a bright white," said Mike Lerch, manager of the campus energy and utilities department.
CSUMB has more opportunities to replace the lighting and heating systems in other campus buildings, said Mansson-Perrone, who served as the environmental senator in student government this past year.
"When you give students the chance to do this type of project," he said, "it gives students more control over their campus."