Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.49
Liaison Krista Bailey
Submission Date Dec. 17, 2020

STARS v2.2

Pennsylvania State University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.81 / 6.00 Shelley McKeague
Environmental Compliance Specialist
Engineering Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 281,487,671 Kilowatt-hours 960,435.93 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 1,144,787 Kilowatt-hours 3,906.01 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 2,221,595 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
3,185,936.95 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
21,862,762 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 1,349,507.04 Square feet
Healthcare space 39,377.59 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 339,689.78 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
24,980,221.04 Gross square feet

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 6,135 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 822 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
6,957 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:
18.33 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 331,238,258 Kilowatt-hours 1,130,184.94 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 2,275,949 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
3,406,133.94 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
18,577,348 Gross square feet

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006

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

FY 2005-06 was adopted as the baseline to be consistent with our previous STARS report.


Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3.14

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.15 MMBtu per square foot 0.24 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.18 MMBtu per square foot 0.31 MMBtu per square foot

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
23.54

Documentation to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
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A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency:

Through the Sustainability Institute, there are Sustainability Programs that focus on outreach and education for faculty, staff and students. Green Paws, an office certification program, incorporates energy efficiency and reduction actions in the 4 Level program. For students, the Eco-Rep program provides an opportunity for students to learn about energy efficiency and conservation and then share that information with peers through fun activities and events.

Office of Physical Plant staff teach and guest lecture in a variety of engineering, architecture and sustainability classes.


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

Penn State has an Energy Conservation Policy (AD64). Set points are specifically addressed in the policy:

Interior Environment - Every effort will be made to maintain the occupied temperature in all University facilities at 70 degrees in the winter and 75 degrees in the summer. This excludes areas that currently are not heated or cooled and areas with special environmental needs.
-The temperature during low occupancy or unoccupied periods in all University facilities will be allowed to cool down to 60 degrees in the winter and warm up to 85 degrees in the summer. This excludes areas that currently are not heated or cooled and areas with special environmental needs.
-Employees and students with manual control of the equipment that heats or cools their space shall operate the equipment so that the least amount of energy is consumed (example, operate window air conditioning units only when the spaces are occupied).


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

Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology is used for various applications in many buildings on campus. All new construction or renovation attempts to incorporate the technology. Common applications include replacing incandescent bulbs in elevators, down light applications exit signs and parking lots. They have even been installed in Penn State's -40 degree Blast Freeze in the Food Science Building. 3 Parking decks (Nittany, HUB, East) have LEDs for upper deck lighting, stairways and access lighting with multi-level occupancy sensor and daylight controls. LEDs have been used for underbowl lighting at Beaver Stadium as well as the new logo signs. LEDs have been used in complex lighting locations including the HUB Art Gallery, Earth & Mineral Science Museum and the Nittany Lion Shrine.


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

n/a


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

Penn State operates 2 Combined Heat and Power Plants. The West Campus Steam Plant has two new backpressure steam turbines rated at 2.9 mW each. They generate electricity to serve Penn State's emergency power needs as well as provide low-pressure steam to campus. The East Campus Steam Plant has a combustion turbine and heat recovery steam boiler to cogenerate steam and 7MW of electricity.


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

Continuous Commissioning (CCx) - Commissioning occurs shortly after a building’s completion to verify if it is functioning according to its design objectives. Implemented in 1998, the University Park Continuous Commissioning Program (CCx) focuses on the re-commissioning, retro-commissioning, and maintenance of campus buildings. The goals of the program are to reduce energy costs and optimize building performance. CCx are “corrective” projects that typically have a 5-year simple payback. The program currently includes 2 CCx Engineers and three 2-person technical service crews. These savings are repurposed toward other energy saving projects.


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:

In 2014, Penn State joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge and pledged to reduce its building portfolio’s energy use by 20 percent over the next decade. With a commitment of 28 million square feet (all campuses except Hershey Medical & Pennsylvania College of Technology), Penn State becomes the largest university in the program.

HDD & CDD from weather station at University Park Airport


In 2014, Penn State joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge and pledged to reduce its building portfolio’s energy use by 20 percent over the next decade. With a commitment of 28 million square feet (all campuses except Hershey Medical & Pennsylvania College of Technology), Penn State becomes the largest university in the program.

HDD & CDD from weather station at University Park Airport

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.