Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.61
Liaison Ian Johnson
Submission Date May 4, 2023

STARS v2.2

Colorado College
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.43 / 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 19,746,149 Kilowatt-hours 67,373.86 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 576,245 Kilowatt-hours 1,966.15 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 125,925 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
195,265.01 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
2,363,320 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 195,964.93 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 269,227 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
3,024,476.86 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 5,374 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 1,188 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
6,562 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period July 1, 2021 June 30, 2022

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
9.84 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 18,131,625 Kilowatt-hours 61,865.10 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 125,193.12 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
187,058.22 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
2,002,259.56 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The baseline was adopted for the academic period leading up to the college signing the ACUPCC in 2009.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.08 MMBtu per square foot 0.14 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.09 MMBtu per square foot 0.16 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:
10.04

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:
Environmental sustainability is part of the college mission, core values, and strategic initiatives. Campus sustainability council works to increase communication about achieving high performance building standards on new projects.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
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.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
LED lighting is the design standard for any renovation or capital construction project on the Colorado College campus. In addition, each year retrofit opportunities are identified to convert less efficient lighting to LEDs.
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.In FY22, Barnes Science Center was converted to 100% LED lighting and occupancy controls were installed in classrooms and offices throughout the building

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
CC does employs passive solar heating with its solar thermal array on the roof of the Worner Student Center.

CC has a geothermal heating system under Armstrong Quad and Geothermal systems are employed at Tutt Library, Hybl community Center and the East Campus housing buildings (Salazar, Chiles, Goodacre, Fleming, Clark, Ellingwood, Heckman and Roberts houses).

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
CC has a co-gen turbine in the Tutt Libarary space. However, the unit has not been in operation during the past two years due to software upgrades, fuel volume requirements, and the fact that CC now receives 100% of its electricity from local solar, making the operation of the unit less attractive for our greenhouse gas emissions.

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

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.