Help us turn off lights and electronics to reduce energy use and fight climate change! ILO Goes Home builds on the monthly student event that has saved energy, emissions, and money on campus. Join the Illinois community and do your part for the Earth wherever you are!
5:30-7 p.m. | Friday, April 17
You can start this weekend by participating in two virtual events. On Friday we're debuting "Illini Lights Out Goes Home" to encourage people to shut off their own lights at home to save energy. And we ask you to join the national Earth Hour celebration on Saturday by going dark for one hour from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Learn more about both events below.
In accordance with campus safety guidelines, iSEE had to suspend all in-person events this semester, including the Spring 2020 Illini Lights Out series and activities related to Earth Month in April. A March 26 symposium on polar exploration, print culture and climate change, co-sponsored by iSEE and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, is among hundreds of campus events also postponed.
But we are transitioning some of our Earth Month activities to an online format, and in the meantime our calendar has other ways for you to celebrate sustainability from the comforts of home!
We will keep the Illinois Sustainability Calendar as up-to-date as possible, so please check back regularly there and in our upcoming newsletters for details! In 
the meantime, we want to extend thanks for your patience during these challenging times. We will continue to promote sustainability and the environment wherever we can!
Since we can't participate in our usual ILO event by switching off thousands of bulbs to save energy and emissions on campus, we ask that ALL Illinois community members do their part for the Earth by shutting off unused lights and electronics — wherever you are! Commit to participate by clicking the link above.
5:30-7 p.m. | Friday, March 27
Help turn off thousands of lights to reduce energy consumption on campus. Sign up to participate in iSEE's Illini Lights Out (ILO) and demonstrate your commitment to fighting climate change and saving our planet!
5:30-7 p.m. | Friday, March 6 | Foreign Language Building Lobby
Hundreds of students have been participating in the event to date, resulting in over 100 tons of CO2 emissions being averted and over 120 megawatt hours of electricity being saved.
Join iSEE, the Student Sustainability Committee and Facilities & Services for a "plogging" fun run/walk, a tour of Abbott Power Plant, a celebration event with organizations and RSOs that includes the Energy Conservation Incentive Program awards and updates on Illinois Climate Action Plan goals, a socially responsible investing program, and the popular Illini Lights Out energy savings event.
Tony Mancuso . Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)
The Student Sustainability Committee allocated $10,000 to Illini Lights Out to expand the program.
This proposal directly funds:
Fall 2017 semesterly report submitted to the Student Sustainability Committee for Ilini Lights Out.
Attached is the ILO Final Tally for Fall 2017. This semester had 4 ILO events in total. Information such as number of volunteers, number of lights turned off, etc., can be found in the tally.
At the ECBS SWATeam's third meeting of FY17, the members discussed methods for how the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) can become more sustainable. For example, there are lighting opportunities at Irwin Practice Facility and at Atkins tennis center. In addiiton, Mike Marquissee, director of Budget, Research and Planning for energy services, presented a mini-lecture (also attached) to the team on their funding options and predicted budget for FY18. The SWATeam then discussed how the grant cuts will impact their iCap progress, as well as what needs to be prioritized in terms of funding. Finally, updates on programs such as the Green Labs Coordinator and Illini Lights out were presented.
The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) is looking to become more involved with the SWATeams and sustainability on campus. ECBS proposed ideas such as decreasing refrigerator usage, making a climate action plan specifically for DIA, and promoting recycling at tailgates. Illini Lights Out had their first event on September 29, and it was a success. 284 light switches were turned off in 13 different buildings. The Green Labs Coordinator position is slowly making progress, but there is a concern with funding. Updates on the ECIP were made, and there is a push being made for mid-year checkpoints in the future. ECBS also discussed if AFMFA projects could be redefined in order to do more maintenance-based projects.
The Energy Conservation and Building Standards SWATeam gathered for the first meeting of the FY2017 on September 12. The team briefly reflected on the progress made thus far (e.g. Zero Net Growth policy was passed in 2015 and a 30% campus-wide energy reduction goal was achieved 3 years early). Updates on current projects were also presented, such as on the new leadership of the Illini Lights Out program.
Following the completion of iWG assessment, the SWATeam recommendation ECONS005 Illini Lights Out Continuation was transmitted to iSEE.
For future updates, please refer to Illini Lights Out.
See iWG assessment of ECONS005 Illini Lights Out Continuation here.
See SWATeam recommendation ECONS005 Illini Lights Out Continuation here.
The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on May 2nd, 2017 to discuss the ECONS005 Illini Lights Out Continuation recommendation and started the assessment of this recommendation. Their official comment was:
"This is an important part of the iCAP and iSEE should take on long-term management and coordination of this program. Moving forward, data on total lights shut off should be collected and shared with building occupants and an educational component should be developed. Perhaps a competitive aspect for participation could be added as well."
See the attached file for the complete assessment of this recommendation complete with official comments from all the iWG members.
See SWATeam recommendation ECONS005 Illini Lights Out Continuation here.
The ECBS SWATeam would like to be able to continue the ‘Illini Lights Out’ program and expand it to one Friday night each month during the academic year. Interest in doing so is based on the phenomenal success of the pilot ‘Illini Lights Out’ conducted on April 15th, 2016. In an Illini Lights Out event, pairs or small teams of volunteer students are accompanied by campus security/other personnel (as necessary) and are assigned buildings to audit on the main Quad to turn off non-essential lights in classrooms/bathrooms not in use. Volunteers meet at a designated location to sign in, review safety protocols and receive their tally sheets. Students use these sheets to indicate any empty rooms where they turned off lights. After the audit is complete, students return all forms to designated staff and are then eligible for a complimentary meal (pizza/burritos) in exchange for their assistance. This event both results in direct energy conservation impact on campus and also helps to inspire students to make small behavioral changes to their routine to enhance sustainability more broadly and throughout life. Buildings audited in the pilot project included Altgeld Hall, English Building, Lincoln Hall, Gregory Hall, Daniel Kinley Hall, Foreign Languages Building, Davenport Hall, and Noyes Laboratory. Given that we would plan to audit a similar number of buildings each event this year, it is expected that 16–24 student volunteers are needed per event. This proposal directly funds: 1) Print and digital advertising for volunteer recruitment 2) Volunteer incentives.
On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:
1) Status of our recommendations to iWG;
2) Review of Illini Lights Out over the past year;
3) Any final thoughts, recommendations for Eco-Olympics;
4) Progress on building energy standards;
5) Updates on the revolving loan fund (RLF) projects;
6) Turning off computers. Change in policy, at least at F&S. Implications for Certified Green Office Program?
7) Building level energy consumption report summary;
8) Good-byes and thanks to departing members.
During seven Friday evening “Illini Lights Out” events in the 2016-17 academic year, teams of student volunteers switched off more than 11,000 fixtures and closed windows in campus buildings around the Main Quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. One bulb at a time, this small action taken by more than 200 students saved campus about $3,400 in energy costs — not to mention lengthened the lifespan of several thousand lightbulbs.
see file
See attached agenda for iWG meeting held on May 2nd, 2017.
On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:
1) Follow up from April 14 Illini Lights Out;
2) Reports from success of Eco-Olympics;
3) Continued discussions on Karl’s work with ACES and other buildings;
4) Energy efficiency standard for UIUC;
5) Dr. Ximing Cai, new Associate Director for Campus Sustainability came to meet the team;
6) SWATeam next meeting time and date: May 11th, from 3:30 to 5 pm.
