Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.90
Liaison Leslie Raucher
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Barnard College
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.71 / 6.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 8,538,866 Kilowatt-hours 29,134.61 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 82,426 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
111,560.61 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
1,118,000 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 35,632 Square feet
Healthcare space 2,720 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 37,180 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,231,884 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 4,598 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 1,568 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
6,166 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Jan. 1, 2018 Dec. 31, 2018

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
14.69 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Part 2. Reduction in source energy use per unit of floor area

Baseline year energy consumption

STARS 2.2 requires electricity data in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If a baseline has already been established in a previous version of STARS and the institution wishes to continue using it, the electricity data must be re-entered in kWh. To convert existing electricity figures from MMBtu to kWh, simply multiply by 293.07107 MMBtu/kWh.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 9,594,906 Kilowatt-hours 32,737.82 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 105,542 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
138,279.82 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
1,089,000 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Jan. 1, 2005 Dec. 31, 2005

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
Building energy consumption baseline was adopted from the NYC Carbon Challenge: Carbon Emissions Inventory for Universities and Hospitals, beginning with the year 2005.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.10 MMBtu per square foot 0.15 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.13 MMBtu per square foot 0.19 MMBtu per square foot

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
18.81

Optional Fields 

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:
Barnard’s community prides itself on its broad engagement with global issues, including climate change. By the time Barnard students graduate, they have interacted with sustainability and climate action through on-campus events, in class, and within internships and student groups.

Students are exposed to campus energy efficiency initiatives as early as first-year orientation. In 2018, for the first time, a sustainability guide was distributed to incoming first-years and included a section on responsible energy usage. Additionally, a competition was held between first-year dorms to incentivize students to turn off their lights and unplug their devices whenever possible.

Barnard offers a course called Energy Resources, in which students conduct independent research on campus energy efficiency. Students are asked to identify a problem and design a plausible solution, working with key members of Barnard’s administration and facilities department. Groups have often focused on creating educational experiences for their peers.

Finally, two student groups on-campus work to implement solutions to sustainability issues on campus. The Student Government Association’s (SGA) Committee on Sustainability maintains a working group on buildings and energy, which serves as a liaison between the administration and the student body. Barnard EcoReps distribute materials and hold events across campus that, among other things, encourage and incentivize students to be mindful of their energy usage.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
Barnard personnel employ continual O&M service and upgrades on the campus. Some of these include Millbank and Altschul Hall’s Air Handler Units; Sulzberger Hall chilled water system; and, BMS upgrades and piping insulation to 50% of the campus. These projects have saved the university an additional 4,585 MMBTu’s of energy and reduced the carbon output by 229 metric tons annually.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Barnard has replaced 30% of existing lights with energy-efficient LED lights so far. This change has resulted in savings of more than 3337 MMBtu’s energy and over 147 metric tons of Carbon. The College will continue to replace bulbs with LEDs.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
---

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
The College does not have a co-generation plant.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
Barnard has replaced three boilers on campus. Additionally, Elliott Hall, 600 W
116th St and 620 W 116th St have been upgraded. The combined energy savings for these upgrades is estimated to amount in a reduction of 1526 MMBtu’s and 81.2 metric tons of CO2e annually.

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:
https://barnard.edu/sustainability-climate-action/campus-culture-operations

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.