| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.93 |
| Liaison | Emily Zabanah |
| Submission Date | Feb. 1, 2024 |
Seneca Polytechnic
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.77 / 6.00 |
Courtney
Hayes Sustainability Specialist - Operations Office of Sustainability |
Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 30,130,931 Kilowatt-hours | 102,806.74 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) | 208,247.20 Kilowatt-hours | 710.54 MMBtu |
Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy | 102,410.51 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 0.01 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, performance year:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 867 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 2,053 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 3,490 Square meters |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Degree days, performance year:
| Degree days | |
| Heating degree days | 3,676 Degree-Days (°C) |
| Cooling degree days | 434 Degree-Days (°C) |
Total degree days, performance year:
Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
| Start date | End date | |
| Performance period | Jan. 1, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2022 |
Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 30,483,494.30 Kilowatt-hours | 104,009.68 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 MMBtu |
Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy | 74,724 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 11,587 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
| Start date | End date | |
| Baseline period | April 1, 2015 | March 31, 2016 |
A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Site energy | Source energy | |
| Performance year | 0.76 MMBtu per square meter | 1.16 MMBtu per square meter |
| Baseline year | 0.87 MMBtu per square meter | 1.37 MMBtu per square meter |
Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
Documentation to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency:
Green Citizen Symposium 2022: This sustainability symposium had a keynote regarding making your home more resilient that included some energy efficiency practice.
Keynote – Achieving Resilience in a Changing Climate
Speaker – Paul Kovacs
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
Most Seneca systems have been designed or retrofitted to run at variable speeds and can be throttled based on control sequences. Buildings are controlled by occupancy-based schedules, or in many cases off a sequence of operation that takes a combination of occupancy sensor data, CO2 sensor data and temperature sensor data into account.
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Seneca’s main buildings have transformed most of building lights to LED lighting and a good portion of the main campus buildings use occupancy sensors as controls. In many cases, where sensors are not installed, BAS schedules are in place.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
How best to include and reward passive heating and cooling is being discussed as part of Seneca’s sustainability standards and new building requirements.
Seneca’s King campus runs a geothermal loop under one of it’s parking lots that provides heating and cooling to one of the campus’ main buildings.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
CHP has not been considered due to its implications on GHG emissions.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
ASHRAE Level 2 audits were undertaken for all campuses to better understand current operations and effective energy conservation measures.
A steady approach has been taken to retrofit existing large pieces of equipment that are not near end of life to make them more energy efficient. The biggest initiatives have been installing VFD’s (e.g., VFD on S@Y chiller #1 in 2022 and chiller #2 in 2023) and establishing BAS control (e.g., BAS expansion to all of King campus and implementation of proper schedules for equipment)
Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.