Beyond Energy Savings: How School Lighting Modernization Projects Deliver Long-Term Sustainability Benefits

Date: September 15, 2026
Time: 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM
Ballroom C

Using the comprehensive modernization of several Schools as case studies, this session will provide an overview of the project’s lighting scope and non-energy saving green benefits within the context of the overall project.

Speakers will discuss the lighting retrofit’s design, projected energy savings, controls, and implementation, while also exploring how the overall project advanced broader sustainability goals through infrastructure modernization, circular economy principles, responsible material reuse, code compliance, student and workforce education opportunities, and long-term operational improvements.

Lighting modernization projects are often justified by energy savings alone, but today’s projects can deliver far greater value. This session will use a real-world school modernization project to demonstrate how thoughtful planning, funding, and implementation can improve infrastructure, reduce long-term maintenance costs, support sustainability goals, and create educational opportunities in addition to lowering utility bills.Attendees will leave with practical insights into project funding, lighting design, implementation, and the broader operational and environmental benefits that can be achieved when lighting upgrades are integrated into comprehensive facility modernization projects. Whether planning a single-campus retrofit or a district-wide initiative, participants will gain ideas they can apply immediately to maximize the return on future investments.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Attendees will learn to:

• Identify funding sources and project delivery strategies that maximize the financial return of infrastructure modernization projects.
• Recognize the non-energy benefits of comprehensive modernization projects, including infrastructure renewal, improved maintainability, enhanced learning environments, and increased facility resiliency.
• Understand how circular economy principles, responsible material reuse and recycling, and lifecycle planning can improve the long-term sustainability of school facilities.
• Apply lessons learned from School project case studies to develop lighting modernization projects that deliver financial, operational, environmental, and educational value.

Speakers:
Thomas Wray, Lighting Property Services
Dominic Cardenas, Southland Industries