Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.66
Liaison Michael Kensler
Submission Date Jan. 23, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Auburn University
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.46 / 6.00 Scott McClure
Energy Engineer
Energy Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

This credit is based on energy inputs from offsite sources and electricity produced by onsite renewables. When the institution purchases one fuel and uses it to produce heat and/or power, you should enter only what is purchased. For example, if the institution purchases natural gas to fuel a CHP system and produce steam and electricity, only the purchased natural gas should be reported.

Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 677,677 MMBtu 564,675 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site renewables 0 MMBtu 0 MMBtu
District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) 0 MMBtu 0 MMBtu
Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) 539,116 MMBtu 450,911 MMBtu
Total 1,216,793 MMBtu 1,015,586 MMBtu

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Oct. 1, 2016 Sept. 30, 2017
Baseline Year Oct. 1, 2009 Sept. 30, 2010

A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
2010 is the same baseline year used in the university's Energy Reduction Strategic Plan.

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area of building space 1,100,565.82 Gross square meters 886,201.72 Gross square meters

Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
3.14

Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Site energy 1.11 MMBtu per square meter 1.15 MMBtu per square meter
Source energy 2.42 MMBtu per square meter 2.51 MMBtu per square meter

Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
3.44

Part 2 

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 1,005 Degree-Days (°C)
Cooling degree days 1,295 Degree-Days (°C)

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 44,485.39 Square meters
Healthcare space 15,174.40 Square meters
Other energy intensive space

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,291,910.23 Gross square meters

Building energy consumption (site energy) per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
126.39 Btu / GSM / Degree-Day (°C)

Optional Fields 

Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) 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 (e.g. outreach and education efforts):
The Office of Sustainability conducts a variety of outreach efforts through its student intern program and its employee Peers Network program. Typical yearly efforts tied to energy conservation include social media messaging, No Impact Week activities, office strategy checklists, posters, and messaging shared through tabling at events around campus. The office also features energy management information on its new employee education material and on its website for both Living at AU and Working at AU.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
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 5 buildings, lighting occupancy sensors are tied into the HVAC setbacks. The buildings that utilize this technology are the Gorrie Building, the Soccer & Track Building, School of Nursing, Pharmacy Research, and Mell Classroom buildings. 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 Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies 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. In addition, the state of Alabama has adopted ASHRAE 90.1 2013 (required to be followed by the University for new construction) which requires daylight dimming lighting controls.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
The university has a 27,146 sq ft facility that uses geothermal wells coupled to water source heat pumps for heating and cooling.

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
NA

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives (e.g. building re-commissioning or retrofit programs):
Annually we perform ongoing commissioning of a selection of buildings in partnership with Cimetrics. For the year 2017, 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. Additionally our in house Energy Management Specialist performs existing building commissioning making corrections along the way and visiting about 4 buildings per year.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
For specifics on historical and current energy consumption, please visit http://www.auburn.edu/administration/facilities/organization/operations/utilities-energy/energy-analysis.html

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.