Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.58
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date April 26, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Boston University
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 6.00 Dennis Carlberg
Associate Vice President for Sustainability
BU Sustainability
"---" 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 1,673,030 MMBtu 1,842,324 MMBtu

Purchased electricity and steam:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 659,049 MMBtu 684,529 MMBtu
District steam/hot water 136,463 MMBtu 178,326 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 14,843,003 Gross square feet 13,426,870 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
Floor Area
Laboratory space 1,007,655 Square feet
Healthcare space 49,353 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 4,804
Cooling degree days 937

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 July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006

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

For consistency, Boston University uses a Fiscal Year 2006 baseline for its sustainability metrics.


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

Seven buildings employ unoccupied modes in their Building Management Systems. BU has Schneider and Siemens BAS systems. 25% of all building space (square footage) is equipped with schedules.


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

LED lighting has been and continues to be a major part of the University's energy efficiency program with new LED fixtures being installed daily across campus.


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

Lighting sensors (both daylight and occupancy) are installed in most all office and modern high rise dormitories, classrooms, lab buildings, garages, and stairwells across the Charles River and Medical Campuses.


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

N/A


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

One building uses a geothermal heat pump system on the Charles River Campus


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

N/A


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

Buildings with existing building energy management systems (EMS) undergo independent 3rd-party engineering studies to determine and quantify savings related to introducing setbacks and controls, occupancy schedules, VFDs, efficient lighting, etc. that are connected to the EMS to be monitored and controlled for optimization. A firm will be hired to perform the necessary changes for retrocommissioning.


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

35 buildings on the Charles River Campus and 7 buildings on the Medical Campus have building management systems. These include Andover/Schneider and Siemens systems. 25% of building space is monitored with a centralized energy management system.


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

The Mini-Fridges that are rented to students living on campus are all Energy Star rated. Additionally, as University-owned apartments are renovated across campus, any existing equipment is replaced with energy efficient equivalents.


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

In new construction, green roofs, water harvesting for irrigation of surrounding landscapes, planting of new trees and vegetation are considered and adopted as appropriate.


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

BU’s College of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences (Sargent College) has an occupancy sensor that turns its vending machine on when approached.

Vending misers were installed on machines across campus. However, problems with the debit card readers (the primary point of transaction) caused the program to be terminated. In response to this difficulty, all vending machines were replaced with EnergyStar units across campus.


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

A multi-year initiative to reduce campus energy use by 10% is underway.


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

Boston University's approach and progress on energy efficiency can be found on the following websites:
http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/energy/
http://www.bu.edu/facilities/what-we-do/energy/

Calculating energy, water, and greenhouse gas metrics involves an ongoing process of validation. This process resulted in a refinement of our data from 2005 through the present


Boston University's approach and progress on energy efficiency can be found on the following websites:
http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/energy/
http://www.bu.edu/facilities/what-we-do/energy/

Calculating energy, water, and greenhouse gas metrics involves an ongoing process of validation. This process resulted in a refinement of our data from 2005 through the present

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.