Purdue University Cuts Costs Dramatically with
Universal's AddressPro Dimming System

Founded in 1869, the main campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, is home to approximately 39,000 students. The statewide university system includes five campuses, numerous teaching and research sites, and a system-wide enrollment of approximately 69,000 students. For 30 years, Purdue University has provided its instructors with the ability to dim the lighting in their classrooms.

“For uniformity, every room has a switch with four settings,” said Charlie Beard, Senior Electrical Engineer for the university, “bright, medium, dim and off. This allows our teachers to change the lighting for lectures and audio-visual presentations.”

Beard said professors once used the dimming feature for lectures using slide projectors, filmstrips and overhead projectors. Today they use computers with PowerPoint™ presentations and DVDs, but the need to vary the lighting in the classrooms remains the same.

“For years we built our own lighting control panels, and the cost was around $4,000 per classroom,” said Beard. “Then about four years ago we changed to a wallbox with a Programmable Logic Controller dimming configuration with a 0- to 10-volt ballast. That solution cost us about $2,000 a room. Last year we were made aware of Universal’s AddressPro™ system. We did a test by installing a unit in a conference room in the engineering building, and it worked well. Then our lamp crew put the controller through its paces and, after extensive testing, we decided to purchase the AddressPro. We are now able buy an off-the-shelf system for lighting control for less than $1,000 per room.”

Beard said the fact the AddressPro digital dimming system is a standard, programmable controller that can be purchased off-the-shelf is important for a couple of reasons. “The nice thing about the AddressPro is that it is not a custom device and our staff can easily program it to assure uniformity throughout all of our classrooms. Custom building is expensive and time-consuming.”

Universal manufactures AddressPro ballasts for compact fluorescent, T8, and T5 lamps. All AddressPro fluorescent ballasts feature installerfriendly universal input voltage as a standard option.

The wall switch is extremely simple to operate. On its right side, a rocker switch is used as the up and down lighting control. An infrared receiver is also built into the wallbox, allowing the user to adjust the room’s light level with a handheld remote control.

For conference rooms and other areas or lighting applications where complex scenes or reconfigurable zones may be required, AddressPro digital dimming ballasts and controls also allow users to independently control multiple lighting zones. This innovative technology is perfect for applications requiring sophisticated dimming such as classrooms, conference rooms, hotel lobbies, churches and restaurants.

AddressPro is part of Universal Lighting Technologies’ comprehensive family of dimmable ballasts that span the full range of dimming needs—office, commercial and industrial. Dimming systems save money, save electricity, and provide the user with a broad range of settings and lighting versatility.

For more information on Universal Lighting Technologies and AddressPro, call 1-800-BALLAST or visit www.universalballast.com.

Universal Lighting Technologies, Inc., is celebrating six decades of bringing power and precision to the world’s most innovative lighting. Founded in 1947, Universal Lighting is responsible for introducing the world’s first electronic ballast. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with operations and distribution worldwide, Universal Lighting products are marketed under the Universal® and Triad® brand names. Universal Lighting is focused on designing, manufacturing and distributing the industry’s finest lighting ballasts and controls.

Universal Lighting Technologies—Energy Intelligence in Lighting.

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