| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.39 |
| Liaison | Stephanie MacPhee |
| Submission Date | Feb. 5, 2025 |
Dalhousie University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.33 / 6.00 |
Stephanie
MacPhee Executive Director Office of Sustainability |
Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area
Performance year energy consumption
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 76,473,687 Kilowatt-hours | 260,928.22 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) | 167,806 Kilowatt-hours | 572.55 MMBtu |
Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy | 723,703.65 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 0 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, performance year:
Performance year building space
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 176,817 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 929 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 208,399 Square meters |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Performance year heating and cooling degree days
| Degree days | |
| Heating degree days | 3,614.30 Degree-Days (°C) |
| Cooling degree days | 191 Degree-Days (°C) |
Total degree days, performance year:
Performance period
| Start date | End date | |
| Performance period | April 1, 2023 | March 31, 2024 |
Metric used in scoring for Part 1
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.
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 80,264,908 Kilowatt-hours | 273,863.87 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 | 648,465 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 0 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
Baseline year building space
Baseline period
| Start date | End date | |
| Baseline period | April 1, 2009 | March 31, 2010 |
A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The 2009-2010 Baseline year is used to compare for the University Sustainability Report and the annual GHG Inventory.
Source energy
Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Site energy | Source energy | |
| Performance year | 1.81 MMBtu per square meter | 2.29 MMBtu per square meter |
| Baseline year | 1.97 MMBtu per square meter | 2.55 MMBtu per square meter |
Metric used in scoring for Part 2
Optional Fields
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency:
The Sustainability Office runs campaigns and programs that support energy and water reduction such as Ecolympics, a Sustainable Labs Program, and lunch and learns, green building tours and education. In addition the office meets regularly with University departments such as Facilities and Ancillary services to embed energy efficiency clauses, requirements and standards in ongoing work.
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
The University has a temperature standard and employs a number of controls products in systems such as lighting and HVAC systems (opitnet, occupancy, C02, VFDs ...). A set back program is in place and ongoing to make adjustments and to rectify issues such as over-rides. A detailed EMIS program with advanced software and hundreds of meters are deployed.
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Dalhousie has completed a Halifax and Agricultural campus wide lighting upgrade that employs LED technology in all parking areas, outdoor lighting, wall packs, most track lighting, chandelier and pot lights. LED tubes have been implemented in new construction and currently all buildings are being converted to LED tube lighting with campus-wide retrofits.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
New buildings are being designed to consider the site location for maximizing solar gain, geoexchange is considered in each new building project. A 60 well geo-exchange system is installed at our Sexton campus. The University has a number of solar pv, thermal and air installations. Solar wall is added where it makes sense at the site. We are focusing more on solar pv for the integration ease.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
The University in 2017-2018 has upgraded the steam system in our DE system at the Agricultural campus to hot water. A ORC (hot oil) biomass co-generation system was also installed that produced 1MW of electricity. Waste heat is used to heat the campus.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
Dalhousie is upgrading existing building systems including lighting; heating, ventilation, and cooling systems; lab equipment; water fixtures, water fed and cooled units; fuel switching and additions such as renewable energy. Recommissioning projects are underway each year to improve energy performance of our building stock.
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:
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.