Colorado College
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

Colorado College employs the following temperature standards:
-During heating season occupied hours, the target building temperature is 71 degrees for academic, administrative and residential areas.
-During heating season unoccupied hours, the target building temperature is 65 degrees for academic, administrative and residential areas.
-During cooling season occupied hours, the target building temperature is 76 degrees for academic, administrative and residential areas.
-During evenings, weekends and holidays, the temperature will default to unoccupied settings. Holidays include Thanksgiving & Winter Breaks.
-Research facilities and labs requiring specific setpoints are exempt from this policy and will be managed on a case by case basis by Facilities Services. Exemption requests can be submitted via the Work Order Request form online.
-Spaces scheduled for special events through the campus reservation system will be programmed as occupied.
-Standard occupied hours for academic and administrative spaces are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
-Standard occupied hours for residential areas are continuous, except during holidays.

Colorado College has installed both interior and exterior LED lighting technology in many areas across campus, which include the following: the walkway lighting for Packard Hall, the walkway lighting for the Tiger Trail steps to Stewart Field, the walkway pole lighting for Cutler walkway to Cascade, the walkway pole lighting at the intersection south of Tutt Library, the exterior door lighting north side of Cossitt Hall, and the interior main hallway lighting Cossitt Hallway. The entire interior and exterior of the Spencer Center, which was undergoing renovations until August of 2014, is now lit by LED's. CC has newly installed LED lights in the Honnen Ice Arena, Schlessman Pool, Cossitt rooms, the El Pomar auxillary gyms, the El Pomar racquetball courts, and in many of the exterior walkway lights around campus.

Colorado College employs various occupancy sensor applications to manage occupancy and/or vacancy sensors. There are currently motion sensors that facilitate lighting in Barnes Science Center, Tutt Science Center, the Mathias Residence Hall bathrooms, and the Palmer Hall classrooms and bathrooms. Recently, the College integrated motion and thermal sensing to adjust air changes in campus laboratories.

CC does employs passive solar heating with its solar thermal array on the roof of the Worner Student Center.

CC employs a water-to-water heat pump system for the Spencer Center. The chilled water system acts as a heat sync, which in turn provides free heat for the building in the winter.

CC does not employ cogeneration technologies.

The college employs an Campus Energy Manager who holds a professional engineer license and who is certified through the Association of Energy Engineers as a Certified Building Commissioning Professional. The Campus Energy Manager performs ongoing building recommissioning throughout the campus. He also performs commissioning on the new and renovation projects.

The college uses utility metering to capture total energy use. It then uses its building automation systems to capture energy use at a building level using electrical and thermal metering at the building level. The building automation system records electrical use on 15 minute intervals and thermal use by hour. CC uses the building automation system to schedule equipment in its buildings. CC has invested considerably to add individual energy meters to all buildings and energy intensive areas previously served by multi-building utility master meters, or by the central plant distribution systems for cooling and heating. CC also monitors and trends the energy usage in order to identify any excessive usage in order to make corrections or adjustments in operating and maintenance systems.

Colorado College employs many efforts to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives. For example, during the remodel of the Worner Center in 2010, the college replaced the dishwasher for the main dining hall with the highest efficiency model available. The replacement has led to a 70% saving on energy and water over the previously existing dishwasher.

Beginning in 2012, as part of its Managed Print Initiative, the Information Technology Department scaled down the number of printing, faxing, scanning,and copying devices on campus and installed a smaller number of highly-efficient, multi-user printers. By cutting back the number of devices on campus from 449 to 145, the college estimates that the project has resulted in a 50% energy saving, or 255,626 kWh/year. In another effort to cut back on electricity use, the Information Technology Department over the last four years has consolidated many of the servers on campus into four large, energy efficient devices known as VM clusters, which are capable of hosting over eighty servers a piece. This initiative has cut down the number of servers on campus from over one hundred down to forty.

Central Plant Water Conservation and Heat Recovery
The central plant water conservations & heat recovery project will work to optimize water use and heat recovery at the central plant. Currently we utilize domestic water to cool the bearings on our central high temperature hot water pumps. This project would automate the flow of water to these pumps and look at recovering heat from this water. The recovered heat could be sent to either the low temperature heating loop or the chilled water loop during the heating season. The project will also look at recovering heat from the ice rink cooling tower.

Baca PV Solar Array
This project will provide more power than is consumed at the Baca Campus. The project is a hands on opportunity for students to learn about renewable energy.

Campus Controls Upgrade Phase 2
This project is phase 2 of a 3 phase project to replace obsolete controls on campus with the latest platform of AX direct digital controls. The updated controls allow the College to apply more sophisticated logic and manage energy consumption more closely. In addition to updating controls, the project allows more space for archiving data and alarms. This data is essential for benchmarking continuous operational improvements.

Campus LED Lighting Upgrades
The campus LED lighting upgrade project is an ongoing project to replace lighting on campus with more efficient LED lighting. This project assists leverages utility rebates to assist with the restoration and replacement of campus lighting.

Honnen Ice Arena Firm Natural Gas Transportation
he Honnen firm natural gas transportation project is a change in the way we buy natural gas at our Honnen Ice Arena. Currently we are on an interruptible rate meaning Colorado Springs Utilities can stop natural gas delivery to us at any time. When this happens, Honnen Ice Arena is without heat. This project moves us from interruptible service to firm service meaning our service cannot be interrupted. For this project the College will utilize its existing contract to purchase natural gas from ontinuum Energy.

El Pomar Electrical Services Upgrade
The El Pomar electrical service upgrades project will either split the buildings electrical service or combine it with the central plant to reduce cost. Due to demand at El Pomar the building experiences rates as high as $018/kWh which is more than double the campus average of $0.085/kWh. The buildings use profile is unique because its peak demand occurs between 4 pm and 10 pm during the winter which is an on‐ peak period. During this time student are utilizing the fitness center and the field lights at on. During this same period, the central chiller plant is idle and could supply the additional capacity required. Another technique would be to add meters and move the facility from the ETL rate to the E2C rate which does not charge for demand. Either method would yield approximately a 3 to 5 year payback.

Central Plant Controls Upgrade Phase 2
The central plant controls upgrade phase 2 project will improve the automation of the central plant heating operation. The controls work includes adding controls and system logic to enable remote starting and automate temperature modulation of the high temperature hot water generators and distribution system pumps. These controls optimize central heating plant reliability and efficiency. The project will expand alarms for safety allowing the plant to be controlled remotely and left unmanned for extended periods beyond just the summer. The extended periods of time will allow central plant operators time to perform maintenance activities on the distribution system and respond to after‐hours emergencies on campus.

Barnes Repair 1st and 3rd Floor Heating Piping
Barnes repair 1st & 3rd floor piping is the third phase of piping repairs in Barnes Science Center. The project includes work to weld leaky Victaulic fittings and replace pneumatic controls on the 1st & 3rd floor. The project saves energy because the old piping must be maintained at higher operating temperatures through the summer to prevent leaking. Welding the piping will allow heating system temperatures to be setback in the summer.

Cutler HVAC System Replacement
This project will replace the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at Cutler Hall. Currently Cutler utilizes steam for heating provided from Bemis Hall. The systems do not have good zone control, so as a result occupants are often too hot or too cold. The new system will utilize a new variable refrigerant flow heat pump system to maximize occupant comfort and efficiency while maintaining the historic characteristics of the building. The system will also help support renovation to repurpose the second floor of the facility.

Cornerstone Retro Commissioning
The Cornerstone retro‐commissioning project will reduce the overall energy intensity at Cornerstone Arts Center. The project is to evaluate the operation of building systems and return them to the intended design parameters. From there additional savings opportunities will be identified and pursued to maximize the buildings energy performance. Currently the building utilizes large quantities of outside air. As part of this project we will attempt to minimize the amount of conditioned air that leaves the building when indoor air quality is at acceptable levels. In many cases commissioning work also improves occupant comfort.