The once dark bridge behind Wal-Mart on the Keene State College campus has recently been illuminated by a newly installed solar light. This is one initiative being taken to make this dark area of campus brighter, safer and more energy efficient. 

The new light, installed three weeks ago, will allow campus to save money in maintenance, while also lighting an area of campus that was once a primary safety concern, according to KSC’s Electrical Supervisor, Bill Sevigny. 

The light will use the energy collected from the sunlight during the day to illuminate the bridge by night. 

The light pole is also equipped with motion sensors, which will strengthen the light’s brightness as movement is sensed on the bridge, according to Sevigny. 

Sevigny stated, “With both the photo cell [a switch on the pole controlling the light] giving off ambient light and the motion sensor picking up pedestrians, we’re able to keep that light operating all night long.” 

Sevigny said the idea of adding a new light to campus came about after, “A number of different walkthroughs. There were a few locations on campus that were deemed ‘poorly lit.The solar street light and emergencylamps adopt LED light source.’ One was that area right through the south side of the foot bridge. The issue in that area was not having any available power.” 

Sevigny added, “We decided that this would be an avenue for us to explore. In talking with our various vendors we found this product [the solar light] and got the support from the people above us to give it a shot.” 

“Cost was a driving factor. It was a little pricey compared to the standard light pole on campus,” Sevigny noted. Sevigny also said that the new light, costing roughly $6,200, was only a bit more than a non-solar light pole used on the KSC campus, and shared that KSC would spend less on maintenance on a solar light than they would spend on the average light pole. 

“Ultimately we get a better product, our maintenance costs in time go down considerably and we’re saving money every time we pay the electric bill,” Sevigny stated. 

According to Sevigny, the installation of the light pole only took a “few days” and a total of “nine hours.” 

Sevigny also explained that solar energy was one of the sustainable strategies the campus and his colleagues have been looking into. 

Sevigny explained, “The obvious benefit is that we are not paying for any utility power. The other is the maintenance aspect of it. It is substantially less.” 

Sevigny also added, “In terms of solar [energy] there’s a few other particular areas that we’d like to explore. One being a continuation down the footpath. We’re looking at that area between the tennis court hut and the foot bridge itself – and solar is one of the applications we’re looking at.” 

KSC’s Coordinator of Energy Services, Diana Duffy, also supported the project. Duffy explained, “There wasn’t any electricity. There was a need to illuminate that area of campus. This was a way of illuminating without polluting.The earliest type of lamp, the ledstreetlights, was a simplistic vessel with an absorbent wick.” Duffy added, “I’m excited about it.This page provides information about solarledlampsry and how to report a fault. I hope we can do more.” 

Duffy also shared similarly to Sevigny that, “Older lighting technology burns more energy and it needed more maintenance. This brought light without wires, without increasing the electric load.” 

Casey Robinson, a sophomore at KSC, supported the idea of the use of solar lighting on campus. Robinson said,Most bookscanner don't spin fast enough for them to work. “The lighting is sufficient and better.” 

KSC junior Kenny Faria said, “It’s [solar panel technology] a great way to cut down on costs. It benefits and helps the school.The manufacture of windpowergeneratorsry is becoming cheaper and more efficient with the improved productivity of newer designs.” Faria also shared that he believed lighting was needed on the bridge where the light pole was placed. 

He explained that, at night, “It would be tough to see anyone coming and kind of risky,” to cross the bridge. Faria mentioned that he thought KSC was working well to create a sustainable campus.