Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.74
Liaison Kathleen Crawford
Submission Date July 28, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Florida Gulf Coast University
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.10 / 6.00 Aric Christensen
Environmental Ambassador
EH&S
"---" 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 156,740 MMBtu 86,867 MMBtu

Purchased electricity and steam:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 148,867.15 MMBtu 86,867 MMBtu
District steam/hot water 0 MMBtu 0 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 4,259,795 Gross square feet
+ Date Revised: Nov. 3, 2014
1,350,578 Gross square feet
+ Date Revised: Nov. 3, 2014

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
Floor Area
Laboratory space 135,433 Square feet
Healthcare space 11,625 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 178
Cooling degree days 4,168

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, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 June 30, 2005

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

It was adopted for our previous STARS submission.


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

FGCU has the largest ice thermal storage plant of educational facilities in Florida and has the second largest "ice farm" of all universities in the country. The Physical Plant has 168 thermal ice storage tanks, the chiller plant produces ice during off-peak overnight hours. Ice is then melted and distributed to cool campus buildings via underground insulated water lines. FGCU saves over $400,000 per year in utility costs due to the efficiency of the chiller plant operations. Building mechanical equipment cycles off during weekends, and low occupancy periods to reduce energy consumption and save equipment wear and tear.


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

LED lighting is currently used in elevators, parking garages, warehouse facilities, maintenance shops, track lighting and the athletic arena.


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

Most campus buildings were designed and built with motion sensors to activate and deactivate lights including all student laundry buildings, Marieb College of Health Professions and Social Work, Lutgert College of Business, the Holmes School of Engineering, the LEED Platinum Certified Academic Building 7, Library Expansion and the Student Union Expansion. Many older common areas and classrooms have been retrofit with motion sensors, including Merwin Hall, Reed Hall, Whitaker Hall, Griffin Hall and the Library.


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

None - Heating is not an issue in our subtropical climate.


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

None - Heating is not an issue in our subtropical climate.


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:

Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) units have been installed on three buildings during the 2013-2014 fiscal year, bringing our total to six buildings with ERVs. The units capture previously cooled and dehumidified air back into to the cooling system instead of taking in new hot, humid air to process. Less energy is required to re-cool and dehumidify the air significantly reducing energy consumption and costs.

The athletic arena was retrofit in May, 2014 with Musco athletic LED lighting to significantly reduce energy consumption, the investment is expected to provide pay back in seven years.


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

FGCU uses the Johnson Controls Metasys networked system. The metasys can be set up for HVAC trends and data based on chilled water needs and run times with equipment. Building schedules are monitored regularly, and when possible, building use is consolidated to allow shut down of unoccupied space saving on air conditioning, computer, and lighting use.


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

An energy efficient engineering assessment was recently conducted in Whitaker Hall, a multiple use space containing many laboratory facilities. The results will be used to determine energy efficiency of older lab equipment and for recommendations of upgrade or replacements as budget allows.

In the residence halls, all appliances are now high efficiency and all of the laundry machines in West Lake are high efficiency. All non-high efficiency appliances will be replaced with high efficiency alternatives from now on.

All shower heads in the residence halls are low flow and Biscayne, Palmetto, and Osprey hall have low flow toilets.


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

The academic buildings are are designed with covered walkways which create a barrier between the direct sunlight and the building and helps reduce the amount of energy needed for air conditioning. All buildings are painted to reflect sunlight and decrease heat islands.


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

The University's vending contract stipulates that machines must either be Energy Star qualified machines or having a VendingMiser® unit attached. VendingMiser® uses a passive infrared sensor to power down the machine when the surrounding area is vacant, monitor the room's temperature, automatically repower the cooling system at one- to three-hour intervals, independent of sales, and ensure the product stays cold. Currently 8 machines have VendingMiser® units attached.


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

Computer labs have had the computers and podiums re-imaged to shut down during unoccupied overnight hours and during holiday breaks.

Tennis court and recreational field lighting is set on a schedule, and timed overrides are allowed with automatic shut off for after hour use.

Periodic inspections are conducted to identify additional areas where retrofit or educational methods could be employed to further reduce energy consumption in campus buildings and outdoor spaces.


The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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.