| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.56 |
| Liaison | Alan Turnquist |
| Submission Date | July 8, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Michigan Technological University
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.84 / 6.00 |
Jay
Meldrum Executive Director of Sustainability Facilities Management |
Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 130,250 MMBtu | 132,123 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site renewables | 50.13 MMBtu | 41.26 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) | 0 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
| Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) | 392,746 MMBtu | 376,329 MMBtu |
| Total | 523,046.13 MMBtu | 508,493.26 MMBtu |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2018 | June 30, 2019 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
Michigan Tech operates on fiscal year that starts on July 1st and ends on June 30th. We have complete data for all buildings for FY 18 (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018) the baseline year, and for FY 19 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) the performance year. In prior years, before we started the STARS data gathering, data for all buildings was incomplete. We now regularly collect and report the data on our Energy website.
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area of building space | 3,493,469 Gross square feet | 3,370,065 Gross square feet |
Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Site energy | 0.15 MMBtu per square foot | 0.15 MMBtu per square foot |
| Source energy | 0.23 MMBtu per square foot | 0.23 MMBtu per square foot |
Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 9,421 Degree-Days (°F) |
| Cooling degree days | 249 Degree-Days (°F) |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 442,401 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Building energy consumption (site energy) per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) 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 (e.g. outreach and education efforts):
The Executive Director of Sustainability is an energy researcher in addition to his overall Sustainability responsibilities. He and his student have worked with the community to encourage the use of renewable energy. Presentations have been made to several community organizations regarding the applicability of solar panels in our area, despite the large amount of snowfall we receive annually. Over 25 installations of PV in our area is a result of our work including a 100Kw Community Solar project in the neighbor Village of L'Anse, MI. We have also encouraged local municipalities to consider lowering energy costs by implementing Geothermal heating systems that utilize the large amount of warm ground water in our abandoned Copper Mines. We work closely with the local Habitat for Humanity in recommending insulation methods to conserve energy and we help Energy Efficiency companies with energy audits for existing homes to reduce heat loss in our long winters.
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
The main campus of Michigan Tech is heated through the use of steam tunnels. This is controlled in our main heating plant. Occupancy sensors are located in about half of our buildings that turn off the lights when no one is there. In some bathrooms, automatic flushing units are triggered by occupancy, rather than on a timer, to again save energy when no one is in the building at night.
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
We are in the process of changing over to LED lighting in our buildings. We initially switched to T8 florescent lights and with in a year found that switching to modern LED lighting can have a one year pay back. Not only do the LED's use less energy, but they emit more light, allowing us to reduce the number of LEDs required.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
Passive solar is a research topic but geothermal systems have been installed in two of our buildings. One uses borings that capture the heat of the earth for a multi-story building which houses some of our accounting and administrative staff. The Keweenaw Research Center is located about 8 miles from the main campus and has a geothermal system which uses ground water from an abandoned mine shaft. The temperature of the water is 55F which is ideal for heating and cooling. There are similar mine shafts on campus and research is underway to incorporate them into upgrades to several buildings.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
CHP is being researched here but there are no installed systems.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives (e.g. building re-commissioning or retrofit programs):
A standard policy is to use high efficiency replacement appliances as part of our Facilities Management deferred maintenance plan.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
file:///C:/Users/jmeldrum/Documents/My%20Documents%2006042007/my%20documents/Sustainability/AASHE%20Score/Energy%20Use/About%20Campus%20Energy%20Use%20_%20Michigan%20Tech%20Facilities%20Management.html
file:///C:/Users/jmeldrum/Documents/My%20Documents%2006042007/my%20documents/Sustainability/AASHE%20Score/Energy%20Use/About%20Campus%20Energy%20Use%20_%20Michigan%20Tech%20Facilities%20Management.html
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.