University of Idaho
OP-4: Building Operations and Maintenance

It is the policy of the university to finance, plan, design, construct, manage, renovate and maintain its facilities in a sustainable fashion. While construction of sustainable buildings potentially incurs additional first costs—both in terms of design fees and construction costs—sustainable buildings have reduced operating costs. The university recognizes that investing in sustainable building practices usually has a short payback period and yields substantial savings over the life cycle of the completed facility. Examples of design standards that have been implemented in campus buildings include:

Building air conditioning systems make extensive use of economizer cooling to use outside air for cooling (when temperatures allow) instead of mechanical energy.
Air handling systems for nearly all major fan systems use VFDs to reduce fan energy and prolong motor life.
Chilled and hot water systems on campus use variable flow systems with VFDs to minimize pumping energy and extend pump motor life.
Chilled water from the District Chilled Water Network is the preferred means to provide heat rejection demands for items such as food and storage locker coolers within the university’s food service venues, IT servers and the various research applications on campus. This eliminates avoidable costs related to individual air-cooled condensing units and improves efficiency.
Nearly all of the newer lab buildings and some other facilities such as the new Living Learning Center make extensive use of heat recovery systems to reduce energy costs by tempering (heating and/or cooling) ventilation air. The University of Idaho is a leader in the state in terms of the use of heat recovery systems in laboratory facilities.
HVAC systems for all new buildings and major remodeled buildings are controlled through a campus wide Energy Management System (EMS) and have an unoccupied mode sequence of controls where possible.
All new buildings and major remodeled buildings are sub-metered for energy use (steam, electricity, and chilled water), and water use for both domestic and irrigation systems.

Randy Smith, Director of Maintenance and Operations; Facilities

http://www.uidaho.edu/facilities/energy/greenbuilding/buildingdesignstandards

http://www.uidaho.edu/apm/40/03

Examples of design standards that have been implemented in campus buildings include:

Building air conditioning systems make extensive use of economizer cooling to use outside air for cooling (when temperatures allow) instead of mechanical energy.

Air handling systems for nearly all major fan systems use VFDs to reduce fan energy and prolong motor life.

Chilled and hot water systems on campus use variable flow systems with VFDs to minimize pumping energy and extend pump motor life.

Chilled water from the District Chilled Water Network is the preferred means to provide heat rejection demands for items such as food and storage locker coolers within the university’s food service venues, IT servers and the various research applications on campus. This eliminates avoidable costs related to individual air-cooled condensing units and improves efficiency.

Nearly all of the newer lab buildings and some other facilities such as the new Living Learning Center make extensive use of heat recovery systems to reduce energy costs by tempering (heating and/or cooling) ventilation air. The University of Idaho is a leader in the state in terms of the use of heat recovery systems in laboratory facilities.

HVAC systems for all new buildings and major remodeled buildings are controlled through a campus wide Energy Management System (EMS) and have an unoccupied mode sequence of controls where possible.

All new buildings and major remodeled buildings are sub-metered for energy use (steam, electricity, and chilled water), and water use for both domestic and irrigation systems.