Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.04
Liaison Richard Manton
Submission Date July 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.11 / 6.00 Michael Curran
Head of Building Services, Energy and Utilities
Buildings Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 16,879,260 Kilowatt-hours 57,592.04 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 175,000 Kilowatt-hours 597.10 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 61,326.65 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
119,515.79 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
155,090 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 36,973 Square meters
Healthcare space 245 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 4,036 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
233,561.90 Gross square meters

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 3,089 Degree-Days (°C)
Cooling degree days 0 Degree-Days (°C)

Total degree days, performance year:
3,089 Degree-Days (°C)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

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

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.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 18,037,986 Kilowatt-hours 61,545.61 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 60,751.70 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
122,297.31 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
155,090 Gross square meters

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Jan. 1, 2017 Dec. 31, 2017

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
2019 selected as its prior to COVID.
2017 selected as we have all required data to hand for it.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
2

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.77 MMBtu per square meter 1.14 MMBtu per square meter
Baseline year 0.79 MMBtu per square meter 1.19 MMBtu per square meter

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
3.66

Optional Fields 

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:
NUIG fosters more energy efficiency attitudes, behaviours and practices in its staff, students and visitors through numerous measures, brief illustration follows:
1) Battle of the buildings, more here http://www.nuigalway.ie/sustainability/projectsresources/battleofthebuildings/
2) Green Flag initiative, more here http://www.nuigalway.ie/sustainability/projectsresources/the-green-flag-award/
3) Sustainable Energy Community, more here http://www.nuigalway.ie/sustainability/projectsresources/sustainableenergycommunitiessec/
4) Green Labs impacts behaviour, practice and technology adoption, more here http://www.nuigalway.ie/sustainability/projectsresources/thegreenlabsinitiative/
5) The Engineering building at NUI Galway, which was opened in July 2011, consolidates education and research activities in the various engineering disciplines into one building, which not only provides a learning environment, but itself acts as a teaching and learning tool. It is serving as a ‘living laboratory’ for engineering, where live data sets from numerous types of sensors are being used to illustrate structural engineering and building performance concepts in undergraduate teaching and in the development of full-scale research in structural engineering and energy. The building contains green-building initiatives, which will provide working models for students. Several of the building’s constructional elements have consciously been left exposed, as visual learning tools.
6) At strategic points on campus energy and water use reminders illustrating current, past and low usage help shape the thought and attitudes of staff, students and visitors to reduce their energy and water use on campus and beyond.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
ISO 50001 Operation standards:

NUI Galway achieved ISO 50001 status in 2012. This means that NUI Galway is operating an internationally recognised Energy Management System Standard within the university.

ISO 50001 is an international standard that enables organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Retrofit of LEDs and energy efficient lighting through out the campus. A recent fit out in 2020 has seen 5,000 LEDs installed on campus.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
Passive solar heating has been embedded in buildings for many years now. The engineering building in this link was commissioned in 2012 http://www.nuigalway.ie/new-engineering-building/ . The large 14,250 sq m building has passive heating with natural and built shading devices, please view link for more.

Another building - Aras de Brun finished in 2020 underwent a deep retrofit and achieves a performance improvement of 42% in electrical and 91% in thermal energy related usage. A heat pump with 50kW solar PV and battery storage is currently being optimised.

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is installed on campus in the larger buildings of the Arts and Science Concourse, the James Hardiman Library and the Alice Perry Engineering Building. 3 CHP units of 300kW, 350kW and 150kW are utilised on campus.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
In 2019 and across campus energy performance reductions from 462 to 237 kWh/sq.m, or 49%, have been achieved since 2006. These figures account for both electricity and thermal energy use, and are predominantly due to high efficiency technology installation, for more see https://www.nuigalway.ie/media/sustainability/files/Energy-Review-Report--October-2020.pdf

Technology improvements have impacted across our schools and disciplines and as an example our laboratories are the first in Europe to achieve green labs status see here https://www.mygreenlab.org . A range of high efficiency technologies together with energy and resource conservation measures have helped establish our green labs.

A district heating plan ahas been designed and is currently being costed after which tendering and commissioning will follow.

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 NUIG Energy Review Report accounts for 58 buildings and some 155,090 m^2 and provides the data for our OP5 inputs. The NUIG Energy Review Report is uploaded above as "secure/1204/8/754/6931/Energy_Review_-_October_2020.pdf".

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.