| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.78 |
| Liaison | Amber Saxton |
| Submission Date | Sept. 9, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
George Mason University
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.92 / 6.00 |
Margaret
Lo University Sustainability Director Sustainability |
Total building energy consumption, all sources (transportation fuels excluded):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total building energy consumption | 692,071 MMBtu | 550,740 MMBtu |
Purchased electricity and steam:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 304,216 MMBtu | 260,146 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water | 387,855 MMBtu | 290,594 MMBtu |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 8,487,263 Gross square feet | 4,578,534 Gross square feet |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 488,335 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space |
Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 4,629 |
| Cooling degree days | 1,274 |
Source-site ratios::
| Source-Site Ratio (see help icon above) | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 3.14 |
| District steam/hot water | 1.20 |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods)::
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2012 | June 30, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2005 | June 30, 2006 |
A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted:
Mason's fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30th of the following year in conjunction with its academic year. Fiscal year 2006 was chosen as a baseline since Mason signed the American College and University President's Climate Committment in 2007.
A brief description of any building temperature standards employed by the institution:
George Mason University installed a comprehensive, integrated facility energy management system utilizing an Ethernet based system to link each facility to the energy management office. This program generated significant savings through improved monitoring and control capability for key systems: heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Verification of proper temperature, setpoints, setback or shutdown of systems, monitoring of energy usage real-time, and detection of degraded energy efficiency would all contribute to more efficient operation and expected savings.
A brief description of any light emitting diode (LED) lighting employed by the institution:
At George Mason University Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology has been installed in the majority of the outdoor lighting systems on the Fairfax and Prince William Campuses. The lighting systems include road ways, parking lots, walkways and parking garage lighting systems.
A brief description of any occupancy and/or vacancy sensors employed by the institution:
George Mason University installed wall mounted and ceiling mounted occupancy and vacancy sensors throughout its campus. This will greatly reduce energy consumption in seldom used areas such as restrooms, conference rooms, and stairwells.
A brief description of any passive solar heating employed by the institution:
Many aspects of Exploratory Hall were designed intentionally to promote sustainability and to encourage student learning opportunities. Daylight harvesting systems were used in the labs and the building uses a screen to evenly distribute light into the interior space to reduce heating and cooling needs and loads. Passive solar heating was also incorporated into the design of the new Health and Human Services building. Mason re-configured the initial building's orientation and dimensions to take into account passive solar heating.
A brief description of any ground-source heat pumps employed by the institution:
The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation campus in Front Royal, Virginia has a geothermal system. It is the largest contributor to the building's energy conservation. This is able to utilize the consistent temperature of the earth to assist in increasing the efficiency of the mechanical equipment. The building also utilizes insulation, light color metal roofing, and low-e coated glass to improve energy efficiency. For more information, http://smconservation.gmu.edu/about/campus-and-facility/sustainable-green-design
A brief description of any cogeneration technologies employed by the institution:
N/A
A brief description of any building recommissioning or retrofit program employed by the institution:
In its second energy savings performance contract, Mason recommissioned several of its energy intensive research buildings located on Mason's Prince William campus. The recommissioning saved Mason, on average, 20% of its energy use for those buildings. Due to that success, in its 2013 Design Information Manual, Mason outlined a recommissioning schedule for its buildings.
A brief description of any energy metering and management systems employed by the institution:
George Mason University installed a comprehensive, integrated facility energy management system utilizing an Ethernet based system to link each facility to the energy management office. This program generated significant savings through improved monitoring and control capability for key systems: heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Verification of proper temperature, setpoints, setback or shutdown of systems, monitoring of energy usage real-time and detection of degraded energy efficiency would all contribute to more efficient operation and expected savings.
A brief description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
Since 2005, Mason has initiated two energy savings performance contracts where heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment were upgraded along with lighting and water fixtures.
A brief description of any energy-efficient landscape design initiatives employed by the institution:
In 2007 Mason's Board of Visitors pledged to design all new construction and major renovations to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard or its equivalent. Mason has implemented several energy-efficient landscape designs including light-colored roofs, green roofs, open-grid pavement, and positioning buildings to take advantage of passive solar design.
A brief description of any vending machine sensors, lightless machines, or LED-lit machines employed by the institution:
In 2010, George Mason University accepted new contracts for snack and vending. The contract had sustainable features including energy efficiency units and healther vending options. The vending machines also have motions sensors to detect when customers are nearby.
A brief description of other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives employed by the institution:
The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Building space and energy consumption data is for FY 2013.
Degree day data is from http://www.weatherdatadepot.com/.
Building space and energy consumption data is for FY 2013.
Degree day data is from http://www.weatherdatadepot.com/.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.