Gateway School District Gets Great Savings and Better Lighting with Universal Tube and Driver Kits

In late 2017, the Gateway School District in Monroeville, Pennsylvania completed a massive upgrade from fluorescent

to LED lighting in five of its schools. The schools were originally equipped with standard electronic ballasts and T8 lamps. To overhaul these outdated and inefficient lighting sources the Gateway School District chose Tube and Driver Kits, which included 2,100 two-tube, 1,620 three- tube and 90 four-tube replacements. The replacement tubes and drivers were installed into the existing fixtures similar to a ballast retrofit, which made installation fast and easy. The LED drivers are dimmable to 1%, which increases their application flexibility for classrooms and conference rooms.

In schools proper lighting can increase learning optimization, which is why transitioning to LED makes sense for any school with an outdated lighting source. LED technology offers controllability, light uniformity, and less maintenance while reducing electrical demand and energy consumption compared to conventional lighting systems.

“We chose Universal’s EVERLINE® Tube and Driver solution because some of our buildings have asbestos in them, so we wanted to put the new tubes in existing fixtures,” says Robert Brown, Gateway’s director of facilities.

“The installation was very easy. Plus, the LED products have made maintenance much easier. With the fluorescents, changing lamps was a daily occurrence. Now we almost never have to change them. My electricians are freed up to do more important work than changing lamps.”

Brown adds that teachers were shocked by the improvement in the quality of light. “They were used to living in a cave with yellow light,” he says. “The LED light is so much better. Many teachers are using the dual-switch system so they only use half the lights. They also take advantage of the dimming capabilities. It’s made a world of difference.”

Despite the upfront costs, Gateway enjoyed two rounds of savings—rebates from the local utility and reduced energy bills due to greater LED efficiency. Brown estimated the rebates received from Duquesne Light Company totaled nearly $30K.