Grand Central Chandeliers Now Lit By CFC Bulbs
The last incandescent lightbulb in the last Beaux Arts chandelier in Grand Central Terminal was replaced today with a compact fluorescent, completing a two-year job to make the 96-year-old "melon" fixtures energy efficient. The MTA expects to save $200,000 a year on the lower electrical cost associated with the 4,000 new bulbs in the 10 chandeliers, not counting the savings from the longer time they take to burn out. (They're supposed to be at least as bright as the old ones, though.) The changeover was mandated by an MTA sustainability commission's recommendation in 2007, and since then, at intervals, the Terminal crew has been swapping in the new bulbs in all the station's 20,000 interiors lights, but the chandeliers took a little longer for obvious reasons. The MTA hopes to win LEED Silver status for the Terminal with this and other innovations. Photo (cc) gossamer.stars.
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