Conservation and Choice Make Lighting Upgrades Easy

Lighting Upgrades

Great performance along with guaranteed energy conservation made Cree the obvious choice when it came to replacing 2,553 lights at Toledo Public School facilities.

The Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Maintenance and Operations Department supports 42 schools in Toledo, Ohio. As the director of Maintenance and Operations, Quintin Reynolds is responsible for finding new ways to save energy. Reynolds along with key staff member, Ron Miller, and TPS’s energy consultant, Palmer Conservation Consulting, worked to save energy by replacing 2,553 outdoor metal halide and high-pressure sodium lights with Cree LED luminaires.

In addition, TPS wanted to turn the opportunity into a teachable moment for students by building an interactive energy dashboard providing real time energy usage data.

The Maintenance and Operations Department with Palmer Conservation Consulting chose Cree LED lights because of the product longevity, low maintenance and the 10-year limited warranty.

“Cree had a 10-year warranty when everyone else offered seven years or less,” says Miller. “The lighting quality is there and the fixtures are good quality — well built.”

“TPS likes the performance, price point, and how it looks compared to other lights on the market,” says Miller. “In addition, the lighting enhanced the look of the schools. Cree luminaires come in many colors so we could choose colors to complement the architecture of each school.”

During the lighting project, outdoor lighting at 42 schools was upgraded in a one-to-one replacement with Cree LED lights. Using existing poles, OSQ Series luminaires replaced flood and area lights in the parking lot, CPY Series replaced canopy lights at the school entrances, Cree EdgeTM Series replaced walkway lights, and XSP Series Wall Packs replaced existing accent lighting.

The crisp, white light of Cree’s luminaries create a safe atmosphere for students, administrators and visitors. As important, the Cree luminaires are backed by Cree’s 10-year industry-leading limited warranty, providing investment protection.

www.cree.com/lighting

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • Quattrocchi Kwok Architects Opens New Office in Denver

    Education planning and design firm Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) recently announced that it has opened a new office in Denver, Colo., the firm’s third overall. QKA is headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif., and runs an East Bay Area office in Oakland.

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.