College of the Atlantic
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

The college's sustainability director started work in September 2005 and began using the Clean Air-Cool Planet Carbon Calculator in 2006. 2005 was presented as a reasonable base year because of the availability of data.

In June 2016, College of the Atlantic launched the Community Energy Center (CEC), which is specifically designed to bridge student energy work with community participation and to extend energy education to a wider audience.
The CEC seeks to foster continuity of the college’s many innovative student energy projects. These projects benefit community members while building students’ real-world skills. The CEC is the center of efforts to cultivate relationships between students and the community. The CEC welcomes partner organizations and individuals interested in collaboration, as shown through projects such as Solar for Businesses and Farms, Community Solar Farm Analysis, Electric Vehicle Connectivity, and Home Energy Audits with Air Sealing.
Maine’s tourism industry provides a unique platform to showcase such community engagement. The CEC’s proximity to Acadia provides a direct link to this extensive tourism industry as well as the opportunities for collaboration and projects entailed therein.

In 2017, COA contracted with Maine Controls to upgrade and overhaul the mechanical control systems in three of the campus’ largest buildings: The 56-bed residence Blair-Tyson, the Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Community Center, and the mixed-use dining hall, library, and administration building Kaelber Hall. This project which was completed near the end of 2017, includes upgrading thermostats to give occupants a level of individual control while maintaining central control over the heating systems thereby reducing energy losses through inefficiency. Buildings are set to occupied/unoccupied temperature standards, and thermostats and heating infrastructure are monitored centrally for efficiency and system health. Residents of Blair-Tyson report better control of the temperature inside the building and inside the dorm rooms specifically. Different temperature standards are implemented according to the season of the year. Electricity use in each building is monitored and centrally available, allowing for more detailed analysis of building energy consumption.

LED lighting was used throughout the Davis Center for Human Ecology (opened in 2021). LED lighting is used in the Kathryn W. Davis Student Residences (opened in Sept. 2008). These residences house 51 students.

College of the Atlantic has a policy of purchasing LED lightbulbs when possible. When applicable, lightbulbs needing replacement are done so with LED bulbs. All incandescent lightbulbs on campus have been replaced with LEDs.

In Spring 2021 COA opened the new Davis Center for Human Ecology, an all-electric, super energy efficient building. At 29,000 square feet, it is the largest building built to German PassivHaus standards in a northern climate.

The Kathryn W. Davis Student Residences were sited to take advantage of natural sunlight and views of the Atlantic Ocean. From the booklet about them: "All six new student residences have ocean views and are oriented for optimum solar harvesting."

None.

In 2021, COA began installing air source heat pumps in buildings on campus to replace oil and propane heating systems. Heat pumps were installed in the Buildings and Grounds workshop, Studio 5+6, Cottage House, Peach House, Davis Carriage House, and Witchcliff Apartments. In December 2021 and January 2022, all 44 showerheads on campus were replaced with WaterSense certified low-flow, 1.5 gallon per minute models. We anticipate that this will reduce campus-wide hot water use by 10-20%. We have also signed a contract to install heat pump water heaters throughout the campus in spring 2022 to reduce heating oil and electricity consumption.
In the fall of 2021, the college purchased 12 units of off-campus housing. We conducted comprehensive energy audits of all of them, air sealed and insulated the attics to R-80 with cellulose insulation, and insulated the basements and crawlspaces with R-21 HFO (low-GWP) spray foam. We installed air source heat pumps to replace the oil and propane heating systems, and have begun replacing all the hot water heaters with heat pump water heaters. By the spring of 2022, we anticipate that all of these units will be free of fossil fuel consumption. In December 2021 and January 2022 we also installed air source heat pumps in the 6-unit Birchtree Lane Townhouses that COA owns and manages, and in the farmhouses at Peggy Rockefeller Farm and 168 Beech Hill Road.
In spring 2015, College of the Atlantic had energy audits performed for all buildings on campus, as well as for our off-site farm houses, barns, and outbuildings. Utilizing this information, and in conjunction with an inventory of heating system age for all buildings, we are working to prioritize which buildings are most in need of energy retrofitting. As we retrofit the leakiest buildings that contain the most inefficient or oldest heating systems, we are able to reduce our heating demand, enabling the purchase of smaller, more efficient heating systems going forward.
Built in 1895, the granite stone, 13,000 square foot 'cottage' known as the Turrets was renovated in 2013 by replacing 99 old, leaky single pane windows with new thermopane (double glazed) windows. Air sealing dramatically tightened the building. Before and after renovation blower door tests found a 49% reduction in air infiltration. This improvement saved 1400 gallons of heating oil during the 2013-2014 winter. Another old ocean front cottage known as Deering was renovated in 2008 and hooked into the central wood pellet boiler system that provides both heat and hot water to the Kathryn W. Davis Student Residences.