George Washington University
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

GW became the first university in the Washington, D.C., area to join the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2008. The university, along with more than 660 other higher education institutions, committed to develop a Climate Action Plan for carbon neutrality and to spotlight and support its academic endeavors on climate issues. GW's Climate Action Plan, completed in May 2010, established a 40% carbon footprint reduction target for the institution by FY2025 relative to a FY2008 baseline, and committed to carbon neutrality by FY2040. The baseline year was thus adopted for FY2008.

GW has been conducting Eco-Challenge, a behavior change program promoting competition between residence halls to reduce energy and water use since FY09, and has enhanced the program each year. The Eco-Challenge program primarily targets incoming freshmen, and also includes all on-campus students. Similarly, through the Colonial Conservation Initiative, benchmark performance reports are distributed on a quarterly basis to occupants of GW's largest academic buildings. The Eco-Building Program has invested $5M+/year in energy and water efficiency since FY12, and GW is expanding promotional outreach around campus. Additionally, GW's Green Office Network provides guidelines for offices to take steps towards energy efficiency.

GW's design standards include winter (70-71F) and summer (74-75F) temperature ranges for architects and engineers designing new buildings. These generally apply to all buildings with building automation systems. In many buildings there is a secondary set-point for each space temperature for use at night, on weekends or holidays, or at other times when the spaces are not occupied. In some older buildings without building automation systems, the same concept is applied through use of programmable thermostats.

LEDs have come to the forefront of GW's energy efficiency efforts. At the end of FY2011 the university began retrofitting its underground parking garages with LED lighting and occupancy sensors. GW now has six underground parking garages using LED lighting and occupancy sensors. In FY12 GW installed LED lights as house lights in its historic Lisner Auditorium theater. GW has begun installing LED lights into a wider range of fixtures including interior and exterior uses. In FY2015, LED tubes were tested in a variety of interior spaces (corridors, elevators) in place of fluorescent tubes. In FY16, one of the largest residence halls was almost completely retrofitted to LED, and the same for one of the largest Academic buildings. During FY17 another academic building and residence hall were almost completely converted to LED. At the end of the reporting period, about 35% of GW's floorspace (GSF) is covered by LEDs. As of January 1st, 2017, GW has made it standard operating practice to replace old lights with LEDs.

Several campus buildings incorporate passive solar heating, such as research greenhouses. Approximately 3,500 square feet of solar window films have also been installed on three campus facilities: Ames Hall, Rice Hall, and 45155 Research Place (Virginia Science & Technology Campus). An additional 6,200 square feet of solar window films were installed at the Elliott School FY17. The window films reduce solar incidence to help prevent overheating in interior spaces, which both improves occupant comfort and decreases GW’s energy demand for air conditioning during warmer months of the year.

GW completed construction of its 7.4 MW combined heat and power (i.e., CHP or cogeneration) plant in 2016 and commenced operation in October 2016. GW's cogeneration plant is designed to jointly produce electricity and steam, thereby increasing the generation and distribution efficiency compared to that of a standard utility company. This increase in efficiency is due to the electric generation waste heat being utilized in the cogeneration process, whereas in the standard utility company power cycle, waste heat is lost by rejecting the condensed steam rather than being reused. GW's plant is designed to produce power for a minimum of two-thirds of the electric loads from Ross Hall and Science and Engineering Hall. Additionally, the plant provides steam and heat to Ross Hall and Science and Engineering Hall, as well as to three residence halls adjacent to Ross Hall (Jaqueline B. Kennedy Onassis Hall, Munson Hall, and Fulbright Hall).

GW has commissioned all of its new buildings for the past 20 years. Two recommissioning activities have been undertaken and another one is planned. In one building a continuous commissioning project was used for a year and in another LEED-certified building a recommissioning effort was undertaken to correct a higher-than-expected energy usage. A formal building retrofit program is now underway; see its description below under the description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming equipment with higher-efficiency alternatives.

Energy use in existing buildings comprises approximately 80 percent of the university's GHG emissions. In the first years of implementing the Climate Action Plan, GW prioritized improving building energy efficiency and enhancing IT systems that result in energy use reductions.

GW's Eco-Building Program provides a comprehensive capital improvement plan to strategically implement energy and water conservation projects in campus buildings. Implementation of this program results in a reduction of energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and produces short-term and long-term financial savings. Through these projects, GW aims to reduce total energy use from the buildings by 15% (despite increasing GSF).

Within the last 5 years, 70+% of GW's buildings (by square footage) have undergone an energy-efficiency oriented retrofit as part of the Eco-Building Program. That trend is poised to continue in the coming years, with additional capital projects already scheduled.