There is no immediate problem with the lights in the parking garage, but they may undergo a makeover anyway. St. Edward’s University is thinking about switching to LED lights to save money while also being environmentally friendly.

The main reason the university is considering the switch is that LED (light-emitting diode) lights might prove to be more cost-effective than the current lights used, Director of the Physical Plant Michael Peterson said.

“It looks like we can increase lighting levels and cut our energy costs in half,” Peterson said.

Peterson also mentioned that the illumination levels of the current light fixtures in the garage, belonging to a compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) system, are beginning to degrade, and LED lights are supposed to outlast them.

Though the benefits of using LED lights reveal why they are being considered, neither the Physical Plant nor the University Police Department have received complaints about the efficiency of the lighting system already installed.

LED lights also present potential disadvantages, Peterson said. There is speculation about whether or not LED lighting pose any health and safety hazards for the installation and maintenance crew and garage users. The new system is also expensive to implement.

Switching to LED lighting was first considered last spring. The Student Government Association proposed legislation about the LED lights that never passed because it became too late in the year. The idea was introduced and how expensive the project would be, Vice President of SGA Noah Corn and Sophomore Sen. Leigh Anne Winger said.

SGA did not reconsider the legislation in the fall, as its author, senior Hannah Kurtzweil, did not request an extension to keep the initiative alive over the summer. Kurtzweil had run for SGA president in the spring and was defeated.

However, the Physical Plant recently decided to look into the usefulness of LED lighting. It will be meeting with two companies that sell light fixtures, Ringdale, Inc., and Cooper Lighting, to determine the payback time of installing the LEDs. The payback period is the length of time needed for the decrease in energy costs to cover the cost of installation.

“The [LED] lights respectively are expected, on average, to maintain a life of 90,000 hours and would give a six-to-seven-year payback without any Austin Energy rebates,” Peterson said.

While the material costs for each light are estimated to be anywhere between $400-550 per unit, making the project costly, the LED lights will most likely outlast the existing 104 CFL lights that have begun to decline in quality. LED lighting has more than double the efficiency of CFLs, according to a New York Times article from May 2009.

LED lights turn on more quickly than CFL lights and, unlike CFLs, do not contain mercury, the New York Times article said. Because they also last longer than CFLs, they are considered safer for the environment.

LED lights may be environmentally friendly, but they may not be as people-friendly. A Feb. 9 Los Angeles Times article noted a study from the University of California-Irvine that found some colored LED lights contain lead, which is toxic to the human body. If these lights become damaged or broken, they could become harmful to anyone around them, including installation and maintenance crews and users of the parking garage.

However, only the entrance and exit signs to the garage use colored lights. The remainder of the garage uses white light, which does not have lead, according to the study.

Peterson said there are no set plans for when LED lights will replace the CFLs, as the Physical Plant is still determining the cost-efficiency of the project and how safe parking garage users will be. He is looking for student, faculty and staff input about the possible change.

Several students who were asked their opinion about the switch to LED lights either didn’t have one or complained about the location of the parking garage.

“It’s in an inconvenient part of campus,” junior Irma Fernandez said.