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to Faculty and Staff
Flagstaff, AZ -- November 17, 2008 -- NAU faculty and staff can now upgrade all incandescent bulbs in their work spaces to new energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) bulbs for free. With 5,000 CFL bulbs donated by APS, the NAU Office of Sustainability is now making the bulbs available to NAU faculty and staff across campus.
Half of the bulbs were made available to NAU students as they moved onto campus this past fall. Students simply brought in incandescent bulbs from desk and floor lamps and traded them in for new CFL bulbs free of charge. The second wave of the program is now in effect with CFL bulbs available to faculty and staff work spaces.
CFL bulbs are a miniature version of the long florescent bulbs common to overhead office lighting. Unlike typical overhead lighting, CFL bulbs produce a warmer, softer light, similar to the familiar light emitted by incandescent bulbs. CFL blubs can be used interchangeably with incandescent bulbs, although specific CFL bulbs have been designed for lighting fixtures that include dimmer switches and 3-way settings. CFL’s are not recommended for lighting fixtures that are usually turned on for less than 15 minutes at a time.
How much of an impact could CFL blubs have on the mountain campus? CFL bulbs use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and can last up to 10 times longer than their counterpart. Richard Baron, Director of the Office of Sustainability, states that, “If all 5,000 bulbs are put into use, the university could save up to $150,000 on their electric bill over the course of the next ten years”, a perk during this time of economic crunch. Additionally, every incandescent bulb replaced by a CFL bulb results in a reduction in the carbon released into the atmosphere by 300 pounds per year, an important consideration since President Hager has made a commitment that NAU will become a carbon neutral campus by the year 2020.
Employees interested in swapping out their current incandescent bulbs should call 523-FAST (523-4227) and place a work order requesting CFL bulbs. Please state specifically where the old incandescent bulb is located. Employees can call the same number to properly dispose of the CFL bulbs when they burn out, however, they have an estimated life of 10 years.