I fully support Mr. Scott's desire for more active energy conservation on
campus.  Too often I'm guilty of turning off lights in a classroom in Holt
Hall with one person hidden in a corner.  But, I wonder if there isn't room
for much greater conservation regarding lighting of our buildings over
night. On occasion I have returned from a sampling trip at 1AM or 2AM to
find every single light in the halls and lounges of Holt Hall burning.
Would there be a way to set up some sort of "ghost" lighting system where
sometime around 9PM the custodians could throw a switch that would shut off
every other or every third light in the halls and common areas of the
buildings.  These switches could then be switched back on by either
custodians or early faculty around 7AM.  The object would not be to create
safety issues, but reduce the total amount of lighting present. Previously,
I was employed at a university where switches to shift to "ghost" lighting
were located in out of the way areas known to faculty and custodians, and
it seemed to work to reduce needless consumption of electricity when the
building was not occupied.  I hope that someone in the Physical Plant might
be able to comment on this suggestion.  Thanks for you time.

______________________________________________________________________________

Henry G. Spratt, Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37403

Ph:     (423)755-4383
Fax:    (423)785-2285
e-mail: [log in to unmask]