Keeping LED Systems Working:
Andrea Wilkerson, PNNL; William Evans, Princeton University; Jeff Reckeweg, University of Maryland
Virtual
Thursday, April 8, 2027
Credits LU|Elective
Intermediate
A decade into widespread LED adoption, real world performance often diverges from initial expectations. This session brings together two professionals responsible for keeping complex university campus lighting systems functioning. They discuss reliability trends, recurring maintenance challenges, and the tools and approaches that have proven effective. Complementing their experience, data from early SSL installations illustrate how early LED systems have actually performed over time. Attendees will gain practical guidance and hear candid perspectives on what’s working, what isn’t, and where the technology needs to evolve.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze reliability trends observed across a variety of LED installations and where real-world performance aligns or diverges from initial expectations.
- Recognize common maintenance challenges encountered by facilities professionals managing large, complex lighting systems in institutional environments.
- Describe effective tools, practices, and troubleshooting approaches to keep LED systems functioning reliably at scale.
- Identify opportunities for future improvement in LED product design, controls integration, and system maintainability based on field experience and measured long-term performance.
Speakers
Andrea Wilkerson
Lighting Research Engineer
PNNL
Andrea Wilkerson is a Senior Lighting Research Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where she has spent the past 13 years focusing on the evaluation of emerging lighting technology in realistic settings, supporting the U.S. DOE Solid-State Lighting program. She earned her doctorate from Penn State and her BS and MAE from the University of Nebraska in the respective architectural engineering programs. Andrea is a Lecturer at the University of Colorado Boulder for the Architectural Lighting Certificate program, and serves on the Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering Industry Advisory Board. Andrea has served on the IALD Education Trust Board, the NCQLP Exam Committee and on many IES committees.
William Evans
Electrical Engineer
Princeton University
William Evans is an Electrical Engineer and has been a member of the Princeton University Engineering Facilities staff since 2008. Prior to this position, he worked as a site engineer at Novartis Pharmaceuticals for six years. Earlier in his career, he worked for Aker Kvaerner as a consulting engineer. In addition to his involvement with the various electrical distribution designs and projects for new building construction and renovation projects at Princeton University, he has provided direction in implementing numerous small and medium scale implementations of Solid State Lighting technology and controls on campus. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with a Biomedical Option from New Jersey Institute of Technology and his A.A.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology from Raritan Valley Community College.
Jeff Reckeweg
Technology Shop Manager, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
University of Maryland