Providence Public Schools replaces old lighting to new energy efficient LEDs

Serving about 22,000 students, Providence Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in Rhode Island. The district has a diverse learning community throughout its 37 schools, with about 68% of student population identifying as Hispanic. Along with its students, Providence Public Schools employs more than 3,200 professionals who support these students.  

This year, Providence Public Schools worked with the RI Office of Energy Resources (OER) to upgrade four of its school buildings to energy efficient LED lighting: Central High School, Juanita Sanchez, and Leviton Complex. The school district took advantage of the School Lighting Accelerator Program which is designed to offer technical assistance, procurement support and financial incentives to Rhode Island public schools to accelerate the transition to LED lighting, complete with smart controls.  

Converting to LED lighting will not only result in significant cost savings, but it is essential for safety and improving the learning environment for both the students and faculty. LEDs provide better quality light which can help students concentrate and improve their productivity. Providence Public Schools was able to replace about 5,500 fixtures with LEDs. 

LED lighting smart controls allow facility managers to customize brightness settings in zones, down to the individual light bulb, if desired. This can help students with light sensitivities by giving them the ability to adjust the light right above their desks.  

By using the School Lighting Accelerator program, Providence Public Schools received $483,500 in RI Energy utility incentives and $918,430 in grant money from OER to complete these lighting upgrades.  

Providence Public School is expected to save 865,564 kWh annually which is the same amount of energy needed to power 144 homes in RI.  

"School buildings in Providence account for the majority of the City's municipal energy usage," said Emily Koo, City of Providence Director of Sustainability. "Upgrading to energy efficient LED lighting was a no-brainer. The lighting retrofits came at no cost to the city because of the partnership with the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, and we expect it to result in significant energy and cost savings."