Energy Trust incentives boost school LED efforts

Replacing fluorescent lightbulbs with LEDs is a logistical and financial challenge for school districts. Buildings have hundreds of lights, often in high-up places that can be accessed only when students are not around, such as Hillsboro School District's Liberty High School cafeteria. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)

The 2023 Legislature passed a law prohibiting the sale in Oregon of most compact fluorescent bulbs, starting Jan. 1, 2024. In a classic example of unintended unfunded education mandates, no one thought to ask schools what it would cost to replace or refurbish tens of thousands of light fixtures that had been expected to last decades.

For example, the Umatilla School District learned in 2024 that it would need to replace its football field lighting with LED lights, including poles and wiring, at a cost of more than $200,000.

In stepped Energy Trust of Oregon with more than $14,000 in incentives as well as expert advice and guidance. Umatilla Superintendent Heidi Sipe said Energy Trust made the work possible.

Most school districts have little more than basic maintenance in their general fund budgets and have little room for unexpected facility costs, such as replacing every light in every building. Education advocates, including OSBA, persuaded legislators to give school districts until Jan. 2, 2030, to keep buying fluorescent bulbs while they planned the switchover.

Districts need the time to reallocate funds or to pass or redirect a bond for major facility repairs, improvements or replacements such as this.

OSBA can help with the bond planning. The OSBA Bonds, Ballots and Buildings Conference on Feb. 6 in Salem offers a wealth of information on planning, passing and using local option bonds.

Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit funded through utility bills, can help with light issues. Energy Trust offers one-on-one support to identify districts' needs and best options as well as instant incentives and discounts to help with costs. Energy Trust serves the Oregon utility customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista.

"Every school we have worked with has saved thousands of dollars," said Juliette Poff, marketing specialist for Energy Trust. "We want school districts to know we are a resource for them."

Poff said Energy Trust has paid $34 million in incentives to schools since 2004.

Poff said Energy Trust will walk schools' halls with district staff for free while answering questions, fully aware that schools have limited facilities resources. Energy Trust experts offer solutions such as daylight sensors and motion sensors that can lower lighting costs and recognize opportunities such as eliminating buzzing fixtures to increase environmental comfort for neurodivergent people.

It's difficult to calculate just how much the law will cost school districts. Some districts will be able to update their light fixtures as part of already planned bond work or replace them as they wear out. There are "plug-and-play" LED bulbs that can be used in some fluorescent fixtures, but the crossover tends to shorten the lifespan of the LED bulbs while also reducing the energy savings.

There are also the labor costs. School lights tend to be in places where students are present most of the day, so they must be replaced when students are not there by maintenance staff who already have full days of work. Lights also can be in hard-to-reach places such as gym ceilings or theaters that add to the complexity. Some districts will need to hire contractors even if they have electricians on staff because of the scale and difficulty of the work.

One of the main reasons the Legislature outlawed fluorescent bulbs is the hazardous mercury they contain. Districts will have to pay those hazardous waste removal costs on an expedited basis as they junk hundreds of bulbs at once, again with no extra funding support.

Mia Hocking, the Hillsboro School District resource conservation manager, estimated the district would spend around $7 million updating lights, although she cautioned that is a very back-of-the-envelope estimate. The district is in a long-range, bond-funded remodeling plan, and Hocking doesn't know their exact needs or what incentives they may get. There are hidden costs as well, such as fixtures bought for buildings before the law passed that can't be used now, and fixtures pulled out of remodeled buildings that can't be repurposed.

The good news is LEDs can cut light energy use almost in half while also reducing the amount of waste heat from the lights. Hocking said it takes about six to eight years for the energy savings to catch up to the cost of the lighting replacements.

For districts, that initial cost outlay is a challenge.

"No one is going to pass a bond just for new lighting," said Sipe, the Umatilla superintendent.

Umatilla had partnered with Energy Trust before the stadium job. Sipe said that when the district passed a bond in 2016, she knew they needed to loop in Energy Trust early to help with remodeling plans. She also asked their contractors and architects to talk with Energy Trust to identify cost savings and best practices.

And of course there are those Energy Trust LED incentives.

"It's not often you have the opportunity for free money," Sipe said.

- Jake Arnold, [email protected]