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Energy Management has already identified building system projects that will reduce energy consumption costs by over $2 million per year. Projects already installed in campus buildings are currently saving over $700,000 in energy costs.

Examples:

Ford Hall Recommissioning: The East Bank's Ford Hall is one of five buildings that have been recommissioned this year. Engineers found opportunities to install variable frequency drives on the Ford Hall's large HVAC supply fans. Before recommissioning, the fans could only be operated at full speed, regardless of how much air was actually required. Occupancy sensors were installed throughout the building so that ventilation registers open only when rooms are occupied and heating or air-conditioning is required. This change, along with many others installed during the recommissioning, has reduced energy consumption in Ford Hall by approximately 15 percent, an annual savings of over $24,000.

 

Machinery Control Schedule Optimization:
Energy engineers and technicians were able to work with the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to slow down the HVAC systems in the Bierman Field Athletic Building while at the same time improving the comfort and working conditions for the administrators, coaches, and athletes. This effort resulted in energy costs savings in Bierman of over $40,000 annually.

 

Humphrey Center Lighting Efficiency Upgrades: After heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, interior lighting constitutes the largest energy consuming system on campus. Energy Management recently completed a lighting retrofit project that replaced over two hundred 110-Watt Mercury Vapor lights with high-tech, energy efficient, long-life 12-Watt Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights in the Humphrey Center on the West Bank. This retrofit, combined with several other lighting improvements in the building, has resulted in a $21,000 annual energy cost savings.