| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.98 |
| Liaison | Jonna Korpi |
| Submission Date | June 2, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Minnesota, Duluth
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.88 / 6.00 |
Mindy
Granley Sustainability Director UMD Office of Sustainability |
Total building energy consumption, all sources (transportation fuels excluded):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total building energy consumption | 548,663 MMBtu | 448,640 MMBtu |
Purchased electricity and steam:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 140,843 MMBtu | 138,001 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water | 407,819.40 MMBtu | 354,053 MMBtu |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 3,516,202 Gross square feet | 2,948,234 Gross square feet |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 321,060 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 6,463 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space |
Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 8,665 |
| Cooling degree days | 434 |
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 | Jan. 1, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2007 | Dec. 31, 2007 |
A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted:
We used 2007 as it was the first year the campus greenhouse gas emissions inventory was calculated.
A brief description of any building temperature standards employed by the institution:
UMD has a Building Systems Control Center, and uses building control systems both from Siemans and Johnson Control companies. The BSAC staff revise and control the temperature schedule each year, based on occupancy hours.
In addition, new building occupants in LEED buildings get a building "User Guide" that explains the temperature controls.
A brief description of any light emitting diode (LED) lighting employed by the institution:
The UMD campus uses LED lighting in both interior (lecture halls, classrooms, elevators and safety/Exit signs) and exterior (street, path, and parking lot lighting).
A brief description of any occupancy and/or vacancy sensors employed by the institution:
Lighting sensors to control use of electricity are present throughout many buildings on campus: some sensors are motion detectors, some are occupancy sensors, and others sense the amount of light available in a room.
All newer buildings use light sensing technologies, but as older buildings are retrofitted, lighting sensors are also added.
A brief description of any passive solar heating employed by the institution:
The Bagley Classroom uses passive solar heating (it was designed to meet Passive House standards)
Large, triple pane, south facing windows provide the building with plenty of natural sunlight as well as passive solar heating during the winter months. Additional natural lighting is provided by solar tubes in the ceiling. The building has an airtight envelope, allowing just 0.47 air changes per hour (as opposed to 5.0 for a typical home). Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP), produced with 100% recycled material in a South Dakota factory, surround the building; the panels are thick and have few thermal breaks where heat loss and condensation can occur.
A brief description of any ground-source heat pumps employed by the institution:
A brief description of any cogeneration technologies employed by the institution:
A brief description of any building recommissioning or retrofit program employed by the institution:
UMD recommissioned the UMD Library's various heating, ventilation and cooling systems to save energy and reduce expenses. All heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) were inspected to ensure they are operating correctly, and within the original design specifications. A number of the systems in the library were not operating the way they were supposed to function. UMD hired Hallberg Engineering to take a deep look at the library’s HVAC systems to see if they could find any areas where we could improve. The recommissioning project consisted of reviewing building usage, analyzing energy consumption patterns, and then coming up with possible solutions that would work for our budget. Hallberg Engineering found twelve main Energy Conservation Opportunities, and eight of those would have a payback of ten years or less. A ‘payback’ is when the cost savings of an upgrade or fix would equal the cost of the upgrade or fix itself. By implementing these eight Energy Conservation Opportunities, UMD would save over $27,900 annually. Since the recommissioning project ended, UMD’s Maintenance & Operations Supervisor has been leading his crew to implement the various recommendations.
See:
https://umdsustain.wp.d.umn.edu/umd-library-recommissioning/
A brief description of any energy metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Many buildings are now tracking electricity use through a program that UMD Building Systems is installing (Square D). This electricity information is available to Building Systems staff, along with UMD Sustainability Office staff. Although there are kinks to work out in the system, we are already seeing benefits of monitoring electricity use to manage a building.
For example: The Bagley Classroom was using more energy than engineering models had predicted, so the system was used to watch where electricity use was highest. This led Building Systems Staff to find and fix problems to reduce electricity use, including supporting the decision to remove two (malfunctioning) composting toilets.
A brief description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
UMD has a Refrigerator Exchange Program
The first program funded through the Green Revolving Fund was the Refrigerator Exchange Program. Faculty and staff at UMD can apply to upgrade old, inefficient department refrigerators and the Green Fund will cover up to half of the cost of replacement.
Since it began in 2011, the Green Revolving Fund has helped replace 36 old refrigerators, freezers, and chillers on campus. Through energy efficiency and consolidation, the replacement of equipment is estimated to save UMD over 38,000 kilowatt-hours worth of electricity annually, and over $2,700 each year in electricity costs. More importantly, the savings from upgrading to more efficient equipment saves 29 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
A brief description of any energy-efficient landscape design initiatives employed by the institution:
A brief description of any vending machine sensors, lightless machines, or LED-lit machines employed by the institution:
The newly remodeled UMD VenDen contains LED-lit vending machines. All of the soda machines are brand new, and Coca Cola provided energy-saving options to save energy (compressors are on timers, and save energy overnight.) The project also consolidated vending services from 15 machines down to 8.
Vending Misers were installed on a half dozen soda machines on campus, mainly in Housing and one in the Administration building. This work was initiated and performed by MPIRG student volunteers. In addition, the UMD Sustainability Office was given an additional 3 Vending Misers to install, and we are searching for appropriate places for these on the main campus.
A brief description of other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives employed by the institution:
Efforts to reduce our energy usage include building energy efficient buildings (see Building Design and Construction section in STARS) sensible building controls (timers, scheduling, energy conservation over breaks), and even adopting a (new, January 2015) Campus Temperature Standard (heating limit 68-70 degrees, cooling limit 74-76 degrees).
The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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.