Facilities Services incorporates many energy management
techniques and strategies into daily operations and construction/renovation of
College facilities
Heating and cooling
- By far the largest consumer of energy on campus is for
heating and cooling buildings.
Therefore, we continually strive to implement building operational
improvements that reduce energy consumption, improve building envelopes to
reduce heating/cooling requirements, replace inefficient equipment with high
efficiency units and design energy efficiency into all new construction and
major renovations.
- Large construction projects such
as the recent addition/renovation of Neidig-Garber Science Center and Stanson
Hall, while not registered under the LEED (Leadership in Energy &
Environmental Design) program, have many sustainable features in design and
construction techniques. Some examples
are: energy recovery systems, high efficiency heating/cooling equipment, well
insulated walls & roof, low-e insulated glass and sophisticated control
systems that allow for reduced run times and better temperature control.
- Replacement of the Mary Green,
Funkhouser and Silver roofs, including significant upgrade to roof insulation.
- Replacement of the old drafty windows in
Mary Green with tight fitting, low-e insulated units.
- Vickroy windows will be replaced during
summer 2009 with high efficiency units, thus greatly reducing the
electric space heating load.
- Replacement of through wall
heating/cooling units in Silver with high efficiency units.
- Replacement of the chillers that serve
NGSC and Bishop Library with state-of-the-art ultra high efficiency units. These units produce the required cooling for
these building using half the electricity consumed by the old units.
- Major upgrades to the Lynch HVAC
systems and controls as part of the lower level improvements.
- Upgrades to the control systems at Bishop
Library and Heilman.
- Water heating systems installed in recent
years as part of construction or renovation have been of the very high efficiency
type.
- Numerous water coolers have been replaced
in the past three years with units that consume one-third the amount of
electricity.
Lighting
- Many exit signs have been replaced with
LED type, which consume one-tenth the amount of electricity. All new exit signs are specified as LED.
- LED lighting was installed in Vickroy and
Silver bathrooms as part of renovations over the past two years.
- Indoor lighting is continually being
upgraded to higher efficiency sources.
Older fluorescents are being replaced with newer high output
units, incandescent is being replaced with fluorescent, metal halide lighting
in the athletic center is being replaced with induction units, which are two
times more efficient.
- Occupancy sensor lighting controls
are being retrofitted and installed in new construction to reduce the on time
for room lighting in many campus buildings.
- Many outdoor lights have been converted
from metal halide to induction units throughout the campus.
Water conservation
- Low volume toilets and waterless
urinals have replaced older high water use units in many campus building and
for all new construction. We estimate
that we have reduced water consumption in the past year by over 1.5 million
gallons as a result of these changes.
- All shower heads on campus are of the low
flow type.
- Many restroom faucets have been replaced
with automatic units that only flow while hands are in proximity to the unit.
Grounds & Athletic Fields
- Composting – During the summer of 2008 the grounds staff
started composting all yard waste created via our campus landscape maintenance
work. This includes grass and shrub
clippings, leaves, branches, spent flowers.
The site is located east of the gold parking lot. Our goal is to eventually use the finished
compost on our landscape beds and turf areas.
If enough compost can be generated we could offer the excess to the
college community.
- IPM – Integrated pest management strategies are being used
by the grounds staff for pest control on the campus turf, trees, and
shrubbery. This program has been in
place for a number of years and we have seen a reduction in the amount of
chemicals used for pest control on the landscape.
- Alternative fuels – We are looking at the possibility of
using alternative fuel for our power equipment.
Propane and electric powered equipment are two options that are
currently being investigated.
Custodial Cleaning Activities
- Almost all of the cleaning products used by our staff are
considered “green”. Some examples are
H2Orange, Alpha PH, and Accumix Stride Cleaner.
- We have recently changed our cleaning cloths to a microfiber
type, which has greatly reduced the energy needed for laundering these cloths.
- All of our paper products—paper towels, toilet paper,
etc.- are a very high post-consumer
recycle content.
- Trash can liners and door mats are all manufactured from
recycled materials.
Laundry
- All replacement washing machines are of the very low water
capacity, front loading type. We
anticipate that all older units will be replaced in the next three to four
years.