Every night, as you walk through the halls of any building on campus, do you notice how quiet, empty, and especially glowing the buildings are? It’s as if it were the middle of the day, the way the hum of the lights follows you all the way out the door.

Did you ever wonder how much energy the university was burning just to keep those empty rooms bright? 

That moment stuck with me because I know it’s not rare whatsoever. Across our campus, countless classrooms, offices, and labs stay lit long after people leave. The waste might not seem like a big deal at first glance, but when you multiply it by hundreds of rooms and thousands of nights, and tens of thousands of lights, the numbers add up fast.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting accounts for nearly 17% of electricity use in educational buildings. The simplest upgrades, like motion sensors, timers, and energy-efficient LEDs, can reduce that consumption by up to 50%. If Rowan adopted more of these “smart lighting” systems across campus, we could significantly cut energy waste, lower emissions, and take a real step toward sustainability. 

Rowan has already made progress in sustainability. The University Green Fund and several engineering initiatives show that change is possible when students and the administration work together. Among these suggested changes, lighting remains one of the easiest and most visible places to improve. Smart lighting technology can automatically detect when spaces are empty, dim during daylight hours, or turn off entirely when not needed. These systems are used at universities like Rutgers and Drexel, where facilities teams have reported substantial cost and energy savings.

The benefits go beyond environmental responsibility. They are financial too:

At Columbia University Irving Medical Center, campus-wide LED lighting upgrades in 2023 resulted in more than $427,000 in total savings so far, and are expected to pay for themselves in about two years through reduced energy and maintenance costs.

Similarly, Georgetown University replaced more than 20,000 bulbs on its main campus with LEDs, a move projected to reduce the school’s carbon footprint by 1,700 metric tons of CO2 each year.

Even internationally, the University of Warwick cut its library’s lighting energy use by 70%, saving more than 545,000 kWh annually by combining high-efficiency LEDs with daylight and occupancy sensors. 

As Rowan’s campus continues its rapid growth, energy efficiency is not just a sustainability goal; it’s a smart investment. The money saved from lower energy bills could be redirected toward scholarships, lab equipment, or student programs instead of keeping empty rooms bright. 

Of course, some may argue that installing these systems would be too costly or complicated. Still, ignoring the problem will cost even more in the long run. The upfront expense of new technology is temporary. The energy waste we create every night is, until we change it, permanent. Moreover, funding opportunities exist through state and federal sustainability grants, which many universities have already used successfully. By applying for programs like New Jersey’s Clean Energy Initiative, Rowan could offset installation costs and make this transition smoother. 

This issue also connects directly to Rowan’s identity as a university built on innovation. We have entire departments dedicated to electrical and computer engineering, energy systems, and sustainable designs; fields that teach the same technologies that could make these changes possible.

If we can design smart systems in class, why not use them on our own campus? Allowing students to help design or prototype efficient lighting solutions would offer students an excellent hands-on learning opportunity.

Walking through James Hall all of those nights made me realize energy waste isn’t invisible. It’s glowing right in front of us. The lights that make our campus feel safe and active can also silently contribute to pollution and cost. The good news is that the solution doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. It only requires using the bright minds at Rowan and the smart technologies we already understand to make our buildings as intelligent as the students inside them.

If we truly want Rowan to lead in sustainability, it starts with flipping the switch, literally. Smarter lighting isn’t about saving energy—it’s about proving that a university driven by innovation can also be guided by responsibility.

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