Swig Lights the Way
By Anayo Awuzie
Lost Santa Clara students trying to find their way home during at night should have no fear as the LED lights at Swig were turned back on last Friday.
The popularity is so high that when the lights went out halfway through last year, Watt received about 40 work orders to repair them.
"Everyone likes it," says Watt, "It's funny, and it turned out to be true, I heard the students are using it to find their way home at night. They're using it as a beacon."
The lights, originally fluorescent, lit the perimeter of Swig for many years; however they were turned off during the 1980's due to system failure, high replacement cost and difficulty of access to the lights, according to Chris Watt, director of Utilities and Contract Maintenance. Now, almost 35 years later, the lights are helping to build Santa Clara spirit in their own unique way once again.
The decision to switch from fluorescent to LED was an easy one for administration. Watt, said that when they looked into relighting the roof, they wanted a fix for the problem of burn outs, which was the biggest issue.
"When LED's came out and were viable, that sort of lined up with the desire by the University to do something to showcase not only the green technology of LED's, but at the same time to do something to address school spirit for when we had sporting events, or when they wanted to do something that was a signature architectural element on campus at night," Watt says, "When we came up with that plan, they decided to go ahead and put LED's up there."
LED lights, are known for their low cost, low wattage and long life span. The lights on Swig are only 200 watts for the entire building, which costs the University about $2 per month.
"They also have a very long life. So they'll go about 75,000 hours without burning out. So, there is no issue of having to try and get to them to change them," said Watt
Said Joe Sugg, assistant vice president of University Operations. "Considering we only burn them at night that's about 15 years!"
Not all Swig residents are entirely sure of the lights' technical purpose on the building; however the lights are very popular with students. Whether returning from a night out in the Santa Clara house party scene, or amping up school pride before and after sporting events, students, especially Swig residents, take great pride in the LED lights.
Sophomore Claire Bevan adds, "They just enlighten my whole college experience. I really like the colors better this year than last year. I think they're really nice. I like that it's a fun, kind of a festive thing especially around the holidays. I think that the (Swig) building is so ugly, that you need something to spice it up."
The string of lights have become a Santa Clara classic and after 15 years when they finally do begin to flicker away, the LED technology allows for non-toxic disposal due to its lack of mercury vapor that is present in fluorescent lighting making these lights another way that Santa Clara promotes green efficiency.
According to Sugg and Watt, it is the intent of the university to maintain the system as it is unless "something newer, greater and cooler comes along," says Watt.
Contact Anayo Awuzie at aawuzie@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4849.