The LED Project Selection Process
We’re dedicated to helping YOU help your communities convert to LED. In order to succeed, we recommend you take the following steps:
1. Understand the difference in electric consumption of traditional (incandescent), CFL, fluorescent and LED lighting technology.
It’s significant. We’ll teach you, including the math.
Evaluate your interests and community contacts.
There are many community groups to convert to LED (we’ve identified more than 20 so far, and add to the list regularly).
Read the list at LEDbc, then ask yourself which project you might most enjoy. Also consider who you know that might help you and help you project succeed.
Enjoying what you do, plus enlisting people to help will increase your impact.
Select a Project.
Choose a project which interests you and matches community needs.
Undertake the Project.
We’ve developed project ideas and action plans based on our success for you to consider. The rest is up to you!
Identify your goals and objectives, and use a calendar to give yourself due dates to keep the project progressing. Allow yourself time. Based on our experience, many things take longer than expected.
Be flexible. We are living in unique times. Adjust as needed. Sometimes Plan A doesn’t work, and Plan B and C don’t either.
Taking one step at a time will add up to success.
Record your experience.
Keep track of your activities (your successes, and your challenges too). Take pictures, file your emails, write yourself an email listing what you have accomplished each week.
LED projects are perfect for college and scholarship applications. They show you care for your community, dare to make a difference, and have real life experience making things happen. The reduction in energy consumption really adds up.
Trust us, you will appreciate the evidence.
Possible LED Projects
Most everyone uses light bulbs, so most everyone in a community can benefit from converting to LED. Getting hundreds or thousands of people to change their behavior, however, can be a daunting task.
With this in mind, we recommend breaking down the effort into smaller increments. Working with a particular group, location or area will help narrow down what you need to do and increase your success.
Based on our experience, there are many who may benefit from a conversion project in a community, such as:
Convert a Non-Profit Organization to LED
Help your favorite non-profit organization convert its facilities to LED. Doing so will help reduce the organization’s electric bill for lighting and help it to spend money on other things. It also helps reduce the organization’s carbon footprint.
Organizations that may benefit by converting to LED include (but are certainly not limited to) the local Humane Society, American Legion Posts/AMVETS, centers for the disabled, shelters, youth residential treatment centers, YMCA/YWCAs, and public health clinics.
For example, a specific effort to convert a community’s Habitat for Humanity organization could be very beneficial. This could include the conversion of the ReStore and main offices. In addition, a program offering Habitat homeowners (those who have come to own their homes through Habitat’s program) access to a supply of LED bulbs and education as to why conversion is important could fully convert the program to LED.
“College Student Apartment Complex” LED Program
Help college students living in apartments convert to LED is worthwhile. Students can be contacted at the beginning of the school year and offered LED lighting, perhaps from a tent set-up at the entrance of the complex at the beginning of the school year, or somewhere on campus.
This effort can be a big help.
For example, in our community, there are three apartment complexes that house students. One of the complexes has 319 units. Based on our estimates, helping each unit convert 12 bulbs (in overhead fixtures) saves each unit over $ 200 in electricity charges. Converting just half of the units would reduce energy consumption by nearly a half-million KW and reduce their spending on electricity for lighting by over $ 30,000 annually.
The savings add up!
Local campus organizations, such as Design Clubs or student community service organizations may be great partners for this effort.
“Help the Elderly” LED Program – Low-Income Complexes
Elderly housing complexes, especially those for low-income adults, can greatly benefit from converting to LED.
LED helps reduce the cost of electricity to residents, who spend a considerable portion of their limited annual income on utilities.
Reducing electric costs for this group helps to free up resources for other vital purchases, like food and medicine.
“Help the Elderly” LED Program – Senior Housing Communities
Help the elderly in senior housing communities convert to LED, especially facilities that were built 5 or more years ago as they are likely incandescent and/or CFL sites.
This kind of project can be very worthy. Many of these organizations are non-profits, and the savings in converting living and common areas really adds up, In one of our assessments, a community independent living facility reduced its electric bill for lighting by $ 40,000 per year converting to LED.
Estimated Savings per unit may be similar to the College Student program, or could be more, depending on lighting levels and consumption. Significant additional savings may be gained by converting common areas such a parking garages, hallways, and public areas.
Church LED Program
Individual, groups or organizations may opt to convert their church to LED. They may also decide to provide members with an understanding of the benefits of converting to LED to their members.
The analogy of “light”, plus the joy of doing something together can strengthen a faith community. Additionally, savings could be pledged toward missions or other projects.
For example, a group could convert and pledge their savings to convert the church to LED, provide resources to an international mission organization, or programming.
City Conversion Program
Lead the way and inspire your city to convert to LED. This can include attending City Council meetings to request an evaluation of money and resource-saving LED conversion of street lighting and city facilities such as City Hall, the Library, or Maintenance Garage.
Check with your City Manager to understand if your community has or is in need of an LED conversion plan, as many cities have yet to implement LED.
Neighborhood or Subdivision LED Conversion Program
Help your neighborhood or subdivision to convert to LED. LED lighting will reduce your neighborhood’s electric consumption for lighting by up to 80% compared to other technology. Your community’s electric rates will determine the money households will stop spending needlessly on electricity for lighting too.
Based on our experience, the savings add up. In our community, converting 20 average households to LED will reduce the neighborhood’s estimated electricity consumption by 100,000 KW and reduce the residents overall spending for electricity for lighting by $ 7,600.
Simultaneously, we expect that converting 100 households to LED will reduce the community’s electric consumption by 500,000 KW and reduce residents’ spending for electricity for lighting by $ 38,000/year, and reduce the community’s carbon footprint too.
Like we’ve said before, the savings add up!
7. Business and/or Employee LED Program
Select a business and convert the business location to LED, reducing the facility’s electricity consumption and saving the organization money.
This program may include the opportunity for the business to help their employees convert to LED, helping them to save energy and money.
An employee program could work very well for companies that have recently shifted a significant portion of their work force to work at home.
This program could also be offered to customers too. For example, investment advisors, credit unions, banks and other financial institutions may gain goodwill with customers by helping them to understand and take advantage of LED. It is a very good investment.
School/Team/Group LED Conversion Program
Help individuals/families at school, on a team, or in a group convert to LED. This program has basically the same structure and benefits as the Neighborhood and Church conversion programs.
Household savings/impacts are estimated to be the same for this group as the neighborhood program. 20 participants, for example, are estimated to will reduce the group’s estimated electricity consumption by 100,000 KW and reduce the residents overall spending for electricity for lighting by $ 7,600. This may not be as generous, however, if the group consists largely of single-person households, as consumption would likely be lower.
Savings from converting could be pledged to support the purchase of equipment, travel or other programs.
Low Income Household LED Program
Help people in low income households in the community convert to LED.
While the gross usage/savings of this group may be less (as this group may consume less light/electricity), the benefits to this group in providing access to funds that would otherwise be spent on electricity for light can be very significant.
Studies have found that while wealthy households spend only a small portion of their income on utilities, low income households can spend up to 20% of their income on such expenses. Helping lighten this burden by helping people simply change their light bulbs could be very helpful.
Even at half the average light usage rates of an average household, helping 20 low income households convert to LED may reduce the community’s consumption of electricity by 50,000 KWH and reduce each household’s spending on electricity by $200/year.
10. College/University Campus LED Awareness Program
There are many ways to inspire LED conversion on a campus. For example, a student or group of students could implement a campus-wide “If It’s Hot, It’s Not!” LED Awareness Program. It would encourage students to check to see if lights on campus are generating both head and light (if so, they are not likely LED). Such a communications effort could be undertaken with Student Government, or in conjunction with the campus Sustainability Department or Committee.
Students would be challenged to “test” the lighting in their dorms/homes. If it “hot”, it’s not LED. Those found not to be LED could be replaced by a process, possibly:
– Report the offending bulbs on campus to an email dedicated to the project. Volunteers track it down and change it to LED. A photo help locate the bulb and determine replacement.
– Provide venue where students can ask for LED bulbs for use in their dorm rooms or apartments at a central location or for their dorms at Department of Residence offices. This could be limited to 2 bulbs per person to contain costs.
– Share the opportunity for students to visit the LED Brighter Communities web site to learn how they might further help to convert their hometowns or surrounding community to LED.
A student or group could also decide to help the area sororities and fraternities convert to LED. There are many ways to encourage LED conversions on a campus!
Inspire Implementation of City-Wide Requirements for LED in Rental Properties
This project advocates for the change in City Code to require LED lighting be used in the common areas of rental properties (such as parking lots and hallways) and the “fixed” private areas (overhead, undercabinet and wall light fixtures) of rental units.
This change in code adds a step to the rental property inspection process (inspectors confirm that the light fixtures in rental properties have been converted to LED during a rental inspection) to assure the facilities are converted properly.
A student or students that undertake this project would become familiar with city government, city code/code enforcement, craft new code, and manage the code changes through the implementation process.
Marketing, Communications, and Recognition Programs
It will be important to help your community understand the importance and value of converting to LED. This is a big task may be easier to accomplish if the objectives and activities divided into smaller increments, especially in larger communities. Here’s how:
11A. City-Wide LED Marketing & Communications Program
The greatest challenge is helping people to know and understand the energy, economic, and carbon-reducing importance in converting to LED.
This project consists of the development and distribution of a community’s Messages and Communications regarding conversion to LED. It may include the development of billboards, radio ads, web pages, newspaper articles, online city-specific communications, or to tell the community the importance of converting to LED.
The project may include the design and use of project-specific logos too. Figure out what resources are available, develop a communications plan to inspire conversion to LED, and implement it.
The goal is to help people understand the value of converting to LED, and inspiring them to convert.
11B. LED Public Recognition/Awards Program
It is important to not only educate people as to the benefits of LED, it is also vital to reward them for them for converting.
This project might also be responsible for developing conversion recognition programs. It might focus on recognizing community members (businesses, organizations and households) which have participated in the program.
This could include the design, creation and distribution of pubic recognition devices such as door or window signs and could also include the creation and compilation of up-to-date champion rosters/participants/sponsors, social media posts, press releases, and web pages recognizing those who have completed the LED conversion process.
Additionally, the reduction of thousands of KWH of electric consumption and dollars that will be saved across the community can be tracked.
We guarantee, this number will add up. The savings are incredible, and help to reduce the our carbon footprint we make on our beautiful planet!