Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.62
Liaison Michael Kensler
Submission Date Jan. 11, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Auburn University
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.70 / 6.00 Scott McClure
Energy Engineer
Energy Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total building energy consumption, all sources (transportation fuels excluded):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total building energy consumption 1,226,844 MMBtu 1,015,587 MMBtu

Purchased electricity and steam:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 643,680 MMBtu 564,675 MMBtu
District steam/hot water 0 MMBtu 0 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 9,315,904 Gross square feet 6,530,982 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
Floor Area
Laboratory space 344,450 Square feet
Healthcare space 42,861 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 3,051
Cooling degree days 1,683

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 Oct. 1, 2013 Sept. 30, 2014
Baseline Year Oct. 1, 2005 Sept. 30, 2006

A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted:

2006 is both the first complete fiscal year with reliable electric and gas consumption data that has been vetted to be accurate, and the same baseline year that the university has established for energy management in our strategic plan.


A brief description of any building temperature standards employed by the institution:

Our campus Building Automation System (BAS) is able to schedule areas for unoccupied modes. Each individual zone (area controlled by thermostat) is attached to timed occupied/unoccupied schedules which are determined by coordinating with the building occupants.

In 2 buildings, lighting occupancy sensors are tied into the HVAC setbacks. The buildings that utilize this technology are the Gorrie Building and the Soccer & Track Building. When the lights are turned off by the occupancy sensors in offices, those areas go to a standby mode. In the standby mode, the controlling offsets are changed from plus or minus 0.5 degrees to plus or minus 4 degrees. If the buildings are set for unoccupied mode, the offsets increase even further.


A brief description of any light emitting diode (LED) lighting employed by the institution:

The new campus standard is for all external lights to be LED and new buildings are being designed to include LED technologies. In addition, some retrofit projects have taken place in and outside of buildings on campus.


A brief description of any occupancy and/or vacancy sensors employed by the institution:

Auburn University uses passive infrared, ultrasonic, and dual technology occupancy sensors to control lighting in various buildings. In ceiling mounted applications we use the dual technology sensors for increased sensitivity. We use the ultrasonic sensors in areas with higher air flows such as bathrooms. The passive infrared sensors are mainly used when switch mounted devices are used.


A brief description of any passive solar heating employed by the institution:

NA


A brief description of any ground-source heat pumps employed by the institution:

Our soccer and track facility utilizes ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling.


A brief description of any cogeneration technologies employed by the institution:

NA


A brief description of any building recommissioning or retrofit program employed by the institution:

Annually we perform ongoing commissioning of a selection of buildings in partnership with Cimetrics. For the year 2014, we monitored 6 buildings. We also partner with the Mechanical Engineering senior design group to perform existing building commissioning, and identify energy conversation measures in a building on campus.


A brief description of any energy metering and management systems employed by the institution:

Auburn University uses the Johnson Controls (JCI) Metasys system for managing building systems. All of our DDC (Direct Digital Control) technology is mapped into Metasys. We are able to trend data from the points mapped into Metasys. This allows us to monitor the usage of equipment and diagnose when problems arise. It also provides a vehicle to monitor the effect of energy management improvements that are made within the buildings. Our chilled water and hot water systems are metered through the JCI system. Even buildings with pneumatic technology, have some points mapped into the system. It may stop at the chilled and hot water interfaces that supply the heating and cooling to the buildings, or it may go down to the air handler level. We also utilize Aclara for automatic meter reading for electric, gas, and domestic water at most buildings.


A brief description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives:

NA


A brief description of any energy-efficient landscape design initiatives employed by the institution:

NA


A brief description of any vending machine sensors, lightless machines, or LED-lit machines employed by the institution:

Under a new contract with our beverage and snack vendors, all vending and cooler equipment shall be Energy Star certified, and approved by the Auburn prior to delivery and installation. The vendors have also agreed to work with the us to evaluate, and potentially install/ activate, additional energy-saving devices/options for installed equipment, including but not limited to lighting and refrigeration control technologies.


A brief description of other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives employed by the institution:

The Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Utilities & Energy and Residence Life, have conducted behavioral outreach efforts in Residence Halls in the form of inter-dormitory energy and water conservation competitions. The Office of Sustainability also offers all employees the opportunity to participate in a Sustainability 101 course, which includes energy conversation information.

In addition, the Utilities and Energy department keeps a running list of larger energy efficiency projects (retro-commissioning, plant optimization, lighting retrofits, etc) for campus buildings. As funding becomes available, either through an internal energy savings kick-back from the general operating budget or through an internal Facilities Management special projects fund, they execute these projects.


The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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