Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.98
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

Lehigh University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.31 / 6.00 Douglas Spengel
Associate Director Utilities and Engineering
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 67,474,443 Kilowatt-hours 230,222.80 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 5,000 Kilowatt-hours 17.06 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 387,343 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
617,582.86 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,547,569 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 184,286 Square feet
Healthcare space 3,101 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 337,071 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
5,259,414 Gross square feet

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 5,091 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 1,357 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
6,448 Degree-Days (°F)

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
18.21 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 56,069,815 Kilowatt-hours 191,310.21 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 599,974 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
791,284.21 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
4,171,377 Gross square feet

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Jan. 1, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007

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

First year of complete available data


Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3.14

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.14 MMBtu per square foot 0.24 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.19 MMBtu per square foot 0.29 MMBtu per square foot

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
15.18

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:

The Eco-Rep Leadership Program was established in 2011. Eco-Reps are the voice for sustainability within their hall council and educate their peers living in their residential hall to be more aware of their behaviors. They help support campus sustainability efforts by embodying and promoting sustainable living within their residential halls. The Eco-Reps foster sustainable behavior among their peers through fun and educational programs focused on waste and recycling, water and energy conservation, transportation, sustainable food systems, and social equity. They make sure all hall council programs are sustainable and they are the recycling expert in their halls. The Eco-Reps are also the driving force during annual competitions including Energy Conservation Month (fall) and RecycleMania (now Campus Race to Zero Waste) (spring) helping to bring glory (and sometimes prizes) to their hall!

Most of Lehigh's buildings are individually submetered for electric, and these measurements are available to the entire Lehigh community through a dashboard system developed in-house and through Lehigh's partnership with OSISoft and the on-campus deployment of the OSISoft Pi System. At the end of 2017, building automation system data for LEED-gold certified Williams Hall was also added to the OSISoft Pi System for the community to see.

The University has a sustainability leadership team called the Lehigh Sustainability Council (LSC) that meets once a month to review and promote more sustainable behaviors through the faculty and staff departments.


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

The general space temperature settings are 74 for cooling and 68 for heating. Space temperatures in many buildings are monitored and adjusted remotely with the campus-wide building automation system (BAS). In general the BAS does not control lighting but most public areas like classrooms include occupancy, vacancy, or daylight sensors that locally turn off lighting when the spaces are vacant or too bright.


A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:

Building lighting on all three campuses are being changed from a variety of existing lighting types to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This is also occurring for street lighting throughout the three campuses, both for street lights maintained by the University and those maintained by the local power company. The local power company offers rebate incentives to encourage such projects to be completed, and the University has been taking advantage of the incentives program. Nine buildings and two parking garages have undergone LED retrofits during the past three years. Many of these buildings, including the two parking garages, are also now equipped with new or additional lighting controls.


A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:

Lehigh's architecture teams are designing some of these features into new buildings that are being planned for the campus. Construction of several new buildings began in summer 2018. Lehigh also signed a power purchase agreements to build a large-scale solar photovoltaic system offsite with a developer in collaboration with three other institutions (pending legal reviews). Lehigh is also exploring the development of an onsite solar array as well.


A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:

The University does not use a cogeneration system on site at this time.


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

All new construction and major renovations are commissioned, and all of these projects aim to be certified to a minimum LEED silver level, or equivalent. For current projects enhanced commissioning and building envelope commissioning are also being performed. Building automation controls in Zoellner Arts Center (ZAC) were upgraded in 2018, and variable speed drives are being added to fan motors at ZAC and in other campus buildings. An HVAC control system upgrade was performed at the STEPS laboratory building and the ATLSS/IMBT Building. The STEPS laboratory building received two new exhaust heat recovery systems to replace defunct heat wheels. Future HVAC system upgrade projects are planned for other Mountaintop Campus buildings and the Goodman Campus Stabler Athletic and Convocation Center.


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:

The performance year data entered for building energy efficiency was from July 2018-June 2019 and therefore was not impacted by COVID-19 and is representative of a normal year. Demographic data is also from 2018-2019.


The performance year data entered for building energy efficiency was from July 2018-June 2019 and therefore was not impacted by COVID-19 and is representative of a normal year. Demographic data is also from 2018-2019.

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.