The Great Bulb Swap

Credit: Great Bulb Swap Great Bulb Swap

The last week in October marked Harvard University Housing’s season for bulb swapping!  Ten swaps over five days were held across the housing portfolio hosted by HUH’s sustainability team.  Residents were given the chance to exchange their inefficient incandescents for high efficiency LEDs—without even leaving home—which proved to be a good thing since many were holed up inside due to the storm!  Over 500 bulbs were swapped, that’s a whooping 82,792 kWh potential savings annually!

Switching to energy efficient bulbs is one of the easiest ways to save energy at home.  When you add conscientious behavior such as turning off lights when leaving the room or using natural lighting instead of artificial when possible along with light bulb replacements the kilowatt hours and the emissions saved is significant.  Harvard University Housing was able to partner with NSTAR and Phillips to provide the 12.5W EnduraLED bulbs to its residents free of charge.  It was a wonderful opportunity to encourage HUH residents to use less electricity in their homes and was well received by those who participated; “Thank you for the LED bulbs - there's no longer any incandescents in my apartment!”  “These bulbs are amazing!”  “Are you doing this again?” 

Bulb swapping coupled with Halloween treats and a chance to talk energy saving strategies with Harvard University Housing’s Sustainable Community Leaders provided both a fun and informative event for the residential community. 

Several residents also took part in the Great Bulb Swap Photo Contest.  Check out the contest winners and more photos from our swaps on Facebook.