A $4-million lighting renovation in several campus buildings will save energy and money in the long run, but university officials say most students won't even notice the change.

However, some might notice another way MSU has been cutting back on energy - keeping the temperature in campus buildings at about 68 to 70 degrees.

"Quite frankly, a lot of people are uncomfortable at 68," University Engineer Bob Nestle said.

Nestle said MSU has been keeping building temperatures at about 68 degrees for more than 30 years.

"Energy conservation has been a high priority at Michigan State University since the early '70s," he said. "At that time, there were some measures taken on campus.

"They even put locks on thermostats."

There aren't such strict regulations now, Nestle said, but the administration encourages individual building managers to maintain the temperatures.

"We're primarily relying on people on keeping temperatures down," he said. "It's kind of hard to do a lot of central management."

Zoology senior Laura Miller said the building temperatures around campus are "very inconsistent."

"There are some buildings that are freezing," she said, citing the Chemistry Building. "(The Natural Sciences Building), I always find, is toasty."

Miller said, if the building temperatures were consistent, she wouldn't mind.

"I think 68 degrees is about right for winter," she said.

But the biggest energy-conserving change will come from ceilings, Nestle said.

"We're doing a lot of things on campus to reduce energy consumption," he said. "It just doesn't require the active participation of the building and most of the people won't even notice."

In the next few months, the new energy-saving lights will replace the older fluorescent lights that have been in the buildings for more than 30 years.

Nestle said the new lights were developed a few years ago, but MSU didn't use them because the failure rate was high. Now, the new lights have been tested and proved successful.

"They definitely save a lot of energy," he said, adding that the lights will even be slightly brighter than the current lights.

They'll also save money, which comes as a slight sigh of relief during tough budgetary times, Nestle said. The conversion cost will be repaid in reduced energy costs, he said.

Nestle said the lights will also help save money in another, more unexpected, way.

"It has an added side benefit," he said. "Since these lights use less electricity, they save on air conditioning in the summer."