Seeing Back to School in a New Light: How Intelligent Lighting Can Make the Busy Season Safer and Simpler
As the back-to-school season approaches, college campuses across the nation bustle with energy and excitement. It's a time when the careful planning and management of campus environments gets more attention.
For campus leaders, ensuring student safety, enhancing campus aesthetics, and maximizing operational efficiency are key priorities. Back-to-school is also a great time for higher education institutions to start thinking about their lighting systems as an asset to these elements of campus life, rather than another feature to maintain.
1. Elevating Student Experience and Safety
Student safety is a top priority for higher education institutions, especially during the back-to-school season when campuses are filled with new and returning students. When equipped with smart controllers that be scheduled and dimmed remotely to account for changing conditions, traffic volume, and time changes, brightness levels can facilitate higher levels of visibility that equate to safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.
Lighting outages can put students at risk. Smart lighting facilitates faster outage resolution and higher uptime. With real-time alerts and remote diagnostic capabilities, lighting issues can be resolved with a single truck roll.
Outdoor lighting networks are also starting to be seen as potential deployment points for robust campus security solutions including situational awareness and License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras.
These features enable campus security teams to monitor potential threats in real-time and respond swiftly to any incidents. In a season when students are navigating new routines and spaces, the peace of mind provided by these advanced safety measures is invaluable.
2. Enhancing Campus Aesthetics
Campus aesthetics play a pivotal role in shaping the overall student experience. The back-to-school season is a prime opportunity for colleges and universities to showcase their campuses in the best light—literally and figuratively. Smart lighting controls not only affix to light poles in a way that is seamless visually, they also help campuses mitigate harsh LED lights by adjusting color temperature and dimming to appropriate levels.
Nobody wants a bright light shining into their dorm window at night.
3. Streamlining Operations and Reducing Costs
Operational efficiency is another critical concern for campus planners, particularly during the back-to-school rush. Smart lighting controls offer a cost-effective solution for managing campus lighting systems. By automating lighting schedules and dimming protocols, colleges can significantly reduce energy consumption and lower utility costs. This is especially important as institutions strive to balance tight budgets with the need for comprehensive campus lighting.
In addition to energy savings, advanced monitoring capabilities provide automated alerts for lighting outages and maintenance needs. This ensures that any issues are addressed promptly, minimizing downtime and preventing potential safety hazards. During the hectic back-to-school season, when maintenance teams are already stretched thin, the ability to proactively manage lighting systems is a game-changer.
4. Supporting Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainability is a growing priority for higher education institutions. Smart lighting aligns in many ways. Intelligent schedules make lights energy efficient to reduce carbon emissions and minimize light pollution, contributing to a more sustainable campus environment.
Dark sky compliance is also a particularly noteworthy benefit of some smart lighting systems. By preventing unnecessary light spillage, the systems protect night sky visibility and reduce the impact of artificial lighting on students’ health.
5. Facilitating Data-Driven Decision Making
In the modern era of higher education, data-driven decision-making is crucial for optimizing campus operations. The data analytics that come with smart lights and mounted camera systems can provide campus planners with valuable insights through its real-time analytics and monitoring capabilities.
Whether it's tracking traffic patterns, monitoring air quality, or analyzing noise levels, the data collected by these technologies can empower campus leaders to make informed decisions that enhance student experience and improve operational efficiency.
During the back-to-school season, when campuses are at their busiest, this data becomes even more critical. Campus planners can use the insights to identify potential bottlenecks, manage crowd flow, and ensure that the campus environment remains safe and welcoming for all.
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Learn more about Ubicquia’s UbiCell intelligent lighting controller and UbiHub, which supports light-mounted LPR and situational awareness camera systems.
