Lights out in dining hall means more revenue

Nov 5 2009 - 1:00am | Maurah Ruiz

Lights are out at Harris, and maintenance is not rushing to fix them. It is part of a new money-saving initiative at Harris Dining Hall by Chartwells.

Upon entering Harris, students may notice a poster explaining the “Dine-in-the-Dark” concept — a program aimed at conserving energy and saving the university money by turning off the lights.

Leslie Bulkley, resident district manager of Chartwells, said the initiative is expected to save the university “countless dollars” in the course of a year.

“The money we’re expecting to save, and the energy that will be conserved is just a drop in the ocean,” she said. “Every little bit we can do will count in the long run.”

Bulkley said the exact amount of energy and money saved per bulb is left up to calculation.

“In a typical classroom, an average of 2,048 watts of energy is used,” she said in an e-mail. “If the lights are kept on for eight hours a day, five days a week, that’s about $50.00 per week.”

Harris Dining Hall is bigger than a typical classroom.

Bulkey said a lot can be saved if everyone on campus takes initiative to turn off lights in empty rooms.

“Don’t forget about lights in the restroom too,” she said.

John Root, director of Auxiliary Services, said it is difficult to pin point what exactly is being saved and where the money is going.

“It does stay in the Food Services Department though,” he said. “The university pays one big bill. The savings at Harris would be less money the university would have to pay for everything.”

Root said the excess money would go towards services, replacement of old or outdated equipment and bringing new concepts to campus dining like Panda Express.

“We recently bought some new chairs for Harris,” he said.

Brandon Coogler, criminal justice freshman, said he did not notice the lights were off in the dining hall because of the big windows.

“I do kind of see it a little darker,” he said. “I thought it was for Halloween. I guess it’s pretty cool. Everyone is ‘going green’ now.”

Bulkley said she would like to see programs like this at all or most of the dining halls.

“When Commons opens up again, I am going to try to get something like this going there too,” she said. “Of course, less lights would be left off. It’s a lot darker in there.”

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