"The Burrill/ Morrill Hall corridor offers a unique opportunity to explore methods of sustainable design through conventional practices of rain garden design as well as hardscaping improvements, lighting installations and additional non-plant strategies.  A moderate strategy is advised. In this conversation moderate is understood to mean more than a creating only rain garden while leaving the existing vegetation, but less than a full redesign which would completely reshape the hardscaping.  A moderate strategy addresses the creation of the rain garden, all the landscape beds while leaving the mature canopy trees in place, and makes some alterations to the existing hardscape.  Perhaps the most difficult challenges of the corridor will be to unify the character of the corridor landscape beds and to design a solu-tion suitable for the harsh conditions of very little sun, significant wind, and heavy pedestrian use."

The Revolving Loan Fund is approved to fund $250K in LED Exit Sign improvements.  Here is the description of the project, as reviewed by the RLF committee:

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This project will replace existing exit signs with efficient LED fixtures in approximately (14) campus buildings.  As a result, energy use will be decreased, life safety systems will operate more reliably, and maintenance needs will decrease dramatically.  This is a continuation of projects funded in FY07 and FY08. We are requesting funding in the amount of $250,000, although the work is very scalable and any funding amount can be successfully applied. 

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CRITERIA:

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08. VISIBILITY - Very visible.  Building users notice when exit signs are burned out and it may make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.  It also creates a negative impression of the pride we take in our facilities.

09. PAYBACK PERIOD - When replacing incandescent, the payback from energy savings alone is about 6-7 years.  Replacement of fluorescent exit signs yields a payback of 8-10 years.  However, the old signs also require maintenance up to 3 times per year.  If one includes this expense, the overall payback improves to 1-2 years.

10. REDUCTION OF COAL - By reducing overall campus energy use, this will contribute to Abbott Power Plant s ability to reduce the number of generation units in use.  An additional benefit is the reduction in GHG emissions from maintenance vehicles traveling to replace burned out lamps.

11. FUND SIZE IMPACT - F&S is working with the Illinois DCEO and this project would qualify for about $7,000 in grant rebates.

12. PROJECT COORDINATION - F&S has a record of success with these projects.  We have developed a project execution method that keeps overhead to a bare minimum, avoids expensive consultant fees, purchases material at bulk prices, and achieves maximum labor efficiency.  F&S Construction Services will execute the work, and F&S Engineering will document results for the DCEO grant.

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ISSUES:

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01. REPLACEMENT OF FACILITY SYSTEMS - Existing exit signs are typically long past their expected life, and have many maintenance problems.  The new LED exit signs will have an expected useful life of at least 15-20 years.

03. IMPACT ON PLANNED PROJECTS - Very little impact on capital projects.  We coordinate to ensure no overlap between buildings selected for exit sign replacement and planned major renovations.

04. WHAT IF PROJECT IS NOT FUNDED? - If this project is not funded, our campus will continue to expend many maintenance hours keeping these lights operational, and waste electricity on inefficient technology that is over 20 years outdated.

If this project is partially funded, we will install as many LED exit signs as possible with the funds allocated.

06. WHAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE AFFECTED BY THE PROJECT? - The buildings we propose are all across campus and used by virtually every college and department.  These units will benefit from improved safety and fewer maintenance disruptions.

07. RISK FACTORS - No known risk factors.  In fact this work will reduce the risks associated with having nonfunctioning exit signs, and improve life safety for the campus community.  We have executed this type of work in 25 buildings so far without major problems.