Colleges and universities in the United States spend an average of $1.10 per square foot on electricity, with lighting representing approximately 31% of energy consumption of a typical classroom building. These costs can balloon within campus buildings where lighting is left on for extended periods of the day (libraries, classrooms, dorm hallways), creating a significant expense each year for academic institutions. In 2013, Iona College, a private university located in New Rochelle, New York, began seeking ways to become more energy efficient, focusing on overall campus lighting in order to manage energy costs. An operating division of a Connecticut-based lighting company won an initial bid for a single project to install LED lighting within a campus parking structure to show the significant benefits of this lighting technology.