News & Events

Monday, July 9, 2012

Harvard Art Museum Earns LEED Innovation in Design Credit (ID) with LED Jobsite Lighting from Clear-Vu

Harvard Earns LEED Innovation Credit

Harvard Art Museum Earns LEED Innovation Credit for LED Jobsite Lighting on Renovation Project

WESTBURY, N.Y., July 9 – When Harvard University set out to renovate its Fogg Art Museum Complex, one of its goals for the ambitious, 201,000-sq-ft, multiyear, project scheduled for completion in 2014 was to earn LEED-Gold certification.

Enter Clear-Vu Lighting and general contractor Skanska with a novel approach: garnering LEED Innovation in Design Credit (ID) at the start of construction by using energy-saving temporary jobsite lighting.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) awards ID credits for exceptional or innovative performance beyond the requirements addressed by the LEED Green Building rating system. In Harvard’s case, the use of Clear-Vu’s low voltage, LED-based FLEX SLS Site Lighting System could have precedent-setting implications for saving energy during the construction phase of a project.

“It’s a way to earn an ID credit that I don’t think anyone’s really thought of before,” said Daniel Lax, 31, who heads business development for Clear-Vu Lighting, a new division of a 50-year-old injection molding company. “This is the first time the USGBC awarded a LEED ID credit for temporary lighting.”

Skanska’s application for the LEED credit cites an anticipated 75 percent reduction in energy consumption on the Harvard jobsite over two years with the use of its LED system, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, unlike compact fluorescents, LEDs  do not contain mercury.

The lights also translate into cost savings. With conventional lighting, the electric bill on the Harvard project was expected to reach $395,000. With Clear-Vu’s LED system, it’s expected to be just $45,000.

Skanska’s Paul Davey had such a positive experience with LED lighting on the Harvard job, he’s recommending that his firm adopt this technology on projects around the country. He said superintendents on jobsites generally find temporary lighting to be a burden as well as a safety concern. With Clear-Vu’s LED system, there’s no maintenance, no bulbs to change and the quality of light is superior.  Because of the low voltage system and low temperature operation of the LEDs in general, safety on the site is also improved dramatically.

Clear-Vu Lighting will be a co-sponsor as well as an exhibitor at the ENR FutureTech Conference, “Leveraging Technology to Build Your Business,” from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.

“LED is a rapidly advancing technology that uses energy more efficiently and can also conserve energy in indirect ways. We encourage people to stop by our booth and get detailed information regarding specific project applications,” said Lax.

Clear-Vu has provided more than one million square feet of LED construction lighting to date. At the conference, Lax will introduce the next generation Flex SLS 2.0 Site Lighting System, which is 20 percent brighter without increasing energy consumption.

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Based in Westbury, NY, Clear-Vu Lighting is a designer and manufacturer of advanced LED lighting systems for innovative applications, including manufacturing and storage, temporary construction, and bridge and tunnel lighting.