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Illini Lights Out Results

Posted by Morgan White on April 18, 2016

Energy Conservation and Building Standards SWATeam Recommendation Summary:
Illini Lights Out – Friday April 15th 6pm – 7pm

Summary: Student volunteers switched off lights in 8 buildings around the Main Quad, counted the number of lights and the room number on a tally sheet and closed any windows left open. Students were given free rein on how to document lights in rooms (some chose to write the rooms with lights off and on, some just the rooms with lights on) and which (unlocked) rooms to enter – as long as they recorded the number of lights switched off. After returning their tally sheets they filled out a short survey and enjoyed some pizza.

Buildings and Number of Lights Turned Off:

  • English Building: 100
  • Gregory Hall: 540
  • Lincoln Hall: 60
  • Daniel Kinley Hall: 42
  • Davenport Hall: 191
  • Noyes Laboratory: 75
  • Altgeld Hall: 182
  • Foreign Languages Building: 343

Total: 1, 533

Number of windows closed: 71


Student volunteers: 22 students from 18 different majors, from ALL academic years.

Student Feedback: Fun & positive environment. Advertise more. Recruit more people. Do it more often. Develop consistent counting metric.

Suggested Buildings: Armory, NSRC, Illini Union, Psychology Building, South Quad, ALL.

Conclusions/Implications:

  • Students keen to participate again – more advertising = more participants.
  • Significant room to expand initiative across campus: north/south quad.
  • Not all buildings can be audited due to sensitive information or lack of classrooms.
  • Specific rooms/ numbers and number of lights should be provided in future to simplify volunteer instructions and tally sheets. However, many accessible hallway lights were switched off during this event.
  • Partnership with local restaurant would make this more cost effective to run and maintain.
  • Better education of the importance of keeping windows closed to maintain heating/cooling efficiencies needed – especially when weather transitions from cool to warm. 
  • Directly addresses iCAP Chapter 2. Objective 4: Engage and incentivise the campus community in energy conservation.

Illini Lights Out is an effective and cost efficient way to help with energy conservation efforts and engages students on campus!!