The saying goes: save water, shower with a friend. But to save power, must students shower in the dark?
Students in Carmichael and South Halls have concerns about a new set of power-saving motion sensor lights recently installed in dormitory restrooms whose service has been less-than-reliable.
"They don't always work," said freshman Alyssa Levin-Scherz, a resident of South Hall. "In one of the bathrooms, you have the hit the button every time you want the light on."
"When I walk in there, I'm just waiting in the dark for a couple seconds for the lights to go on, but they never do," said freshman Aaron Rothstein, also a South resident.
Tufts Facilities assured the community that it would troubleshoot to the best of its ability.
"When a concern with the function of an occupancy sensor is reported, it is checked as soon as possible," said Betsy Isenstein, Energy Manager at Tufts Facilities.
These installations are part of a TCU Senate-approved campus-wide initiative to save power that began two years ago in many campus dormitories.
The project began when motion-sensor lights were installed in Hill, Miller, Louis, Houston and Tilton Halls in 2003. Current installation is in-progress in Bush, Carmichael, Hodgdon, South and Stratton Halls.
Isenstein emphasized that the lights were only added to locations deemed appropriate. That is to say, motion sensor lights were not installed if bathroom switches were located outside of the bathroom. Likewise, motion sensor lights will never be installed in student rooms because of the inconvenience to students.
"Often small adjustments to the time delay are necessary," Isenstein said. "Much less often, an occupancy sensor just doesn't work for a given application and it is removed or replaced with a different technology."
The motion sensor lights are usually set to turn off after twenty minutes without motion. The eventual goal is the installation of motion-sensors in all appropriate locations in all dormitories.
The motion sensor lights help save energy in the face of rising energy costs nationwide, Isenstein said.
Though impossible to ascertain the exact amount of savings, the U.S. Department of Energy does recommend "using dimmers, motion sensors, or occupancy sensors to automatically turn on or off lighting as needed and prevent energy waste."
Tufts' energy provider also gives the University energy rebates for utilizing the motion sensor lights.
Utility companies typically provide incentives based on the number of Watts controlled by the sensor as well as the type of sensor installed. Isenstein emphasized that rewards from incentives "are reinvested into future energy conservation projections."
