| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58.49 |
| Liaison | Richard Johnson |
| Submission Date | Nov. 11, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Rice University
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.86 / 6.00 |
Total building energy consumption, all sources (transportation fuels excluded):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total building energy consumption | 862,064 MMBtu | 916,648 MMBtu |
Purchased electricity and steam:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 348,164 MMBtu | 329,654 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water | 0 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 5,695,320 Gross square feet | 5,695,320 Gross square feet |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 1,663,367 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space |
Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 1,211 |
| Cooling degree days | 3,144 |
Source-site ratios::
| Source-Site Ratio (see help icon above) | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 3.14 |
| District steam/hot water | 1.20 |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods)::
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2012 | June 30, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2011 | June 30, 2012 |
A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The baseline year was adopted by our consultant in the development of RICEMaP, the Rice Integrated Climate and Energy Master Plan. RICEMaP contains multiple reports: campus-level energy use, future investment scenarios, and climate action plan; building-level energy audits; and metering.
A brief description of any building temperature standards employed by the institution:
Rice University is committed to continuous improvement in reducing its ecological footprint. As such, in January of 2009, Rice adopted a building temperature policy. The purpose of this policy is to “efficiently manage the use of energy in the cooling, heating, and dehumidification of Rice University facility while providing a quality indoor environment that enables the university community to achieve its mission.”
The policy states that the following indoor temperature and humidity ranges for occupied spaces shall be maintained on campus:
Air conditioning: Temperature range = 74-78 degrees. Relative humidity = 40-65%
Heating: Temperature range = 68-72 degrees. Relative humidity = 40-65%
These ranges fall within ASHRAE standard 55-2004 “Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.”
Certain specialized areas –such as laboratories, library collections, the Data Center and galleries—are exempt from these guidelines but will be expected to be maintained within recognized efficient ranges for their type of use.
Appropriate nighttime, weekend and holiday setbacks will be implemented outside of established hours of operation.
A brief description of any light emitting diode (LED) lighting employed by the institution:
A number of campus elevators have been retrofitted with LED lights. LEDs have also been used for fountain lighting around campus, and LED light tubes have been installed in place of T8 bulbs in ceiling lay-in fixtures as a demonstration in the Facilities, Engineering & Planning department. LED lighting has also been installed as the lighting source in the renovation of the lecture hall Herring Hall Room 100, as well as the commons for both Sid Rich and Will Rice Colleges.
A brief description of any occupancy and/or vacancy sensors employed by the institution:
Rice uses a number of different technologies to reduce energy use associated with lighting. The new wings of Baker and Will Rice Colleges, along with all of The Anderson-Clarke Center, and McMurtry and Duncan Colleges are fitted with lights and thermostats operating with a motion/infrared-detection system; while students occupy the room, both systems are on, and when rooms are vacant, the systems turn off—simple, effective and energy conscious. The heating and cooling system is designed to conserve energy and functions using the university’s energy policy temperature guidelines. If the door (or window in Duncan and McMurtry) is open, the system will enter “sleep” mode to save energy.
Additionally, hallway lights have timers programmed to turn off lights at certain hours. Several other buildings on campus also have motion detectors in public spaces, such as the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and portions of Fondren Library.
Occupancy sensors for lighting are now standard for all new offices.
A brief description of any passive solar heating employed by the institution:
A brief description of any ground-source heat pumps employed by the institution:
Rice University implemented a small-scale geothermal heat pump installation in the campus’ South Plant. The installation consists of a vertical closed loop system with 10 vertical bore holes drilled to a depth of 250 feet each, and the installation is intended to be small scale as an experiment and therefore only heats a 1,400 square foot portion of the plant. Unfortunately, the system is not metered and therefore cannot provide specific data on energy use and efficiency.
A brief description of any cogeneration technologies employed by the institution:
Rice University has two cogeneration turbines at its central plant, and the two turbines have a combined rating of about 7.5 MW. The waste heat from these turbines is captured and used to create steam.
A brief description of any building recommissioning or retrofit program employed by the institution:
As part of the Rice Integrated Climate and Energy Master Plan (RICEMaP), Rice hired a consultant to conduct ASHRAE Level 2 building energy audits for ten buildings. The results of these audits generated a list of energy conservation measures and estimated costs, paybacks, and CO2 reductions for implementing those projects. Rice is now implementing these projects. The first project - Dell Butcher Hall - is currently underway, and includes a full building recommissioning. This represents a comprehensive approach to retrofits and recommissioning.
Rice has also enacted a number of smaller-scale retrofit projects, such as lighting retrofits in Alice Pratt Brown Hall, lighting retrofits using LED lighting in the Will Rice College and Sid Richardson College commons, building controls retrofits in Herzstein Hall and the Rice Memorial Center, etc.
A brief description of any energy metering and management systems employed by the institution:
In terms of metering, energy consumption, including electricity, natural gas, steam, and chilled water is metered at the building level for all academic and administrative buildings. Residential buildings are sometimes metered individually for the above utilities, and sometimes metered in clusters.
In terms of management, Rice University has implemented a building energy management system, allowing our Facilities, Engineering and Planning department to constantly monitor energy consumption for most campus buildings (including fume hood usage) in real-time, making adjustments as necessary to conserve energy while ensuring occupant comfort. Rice’s approach to weather-normalized energy modeling is now the basis of a campus energy management product offered by Rockwell Automation.
A brief description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
All new computer purchases must adhere to university standard, and the university's approved offerings are all EnergyStar rated. The Housing and Dining Department has replaced most of their washing machines with high efficiency models.
A brief description of any energy-efficient landscape design initiatives employed by the institution:
Rice University has adopted a new standard for outdoor lighting that uses an LED bulb and consumes approximately 1/3 of the electricity of our previous standard.
A brief description of any vending machine sensors, lightless machines, or LED-lit machines employed by the institution:
Rice has a number of infrared USA Technologies vending misers installed in drink machines across campus. The vending misers power down the machines when the surrounding area is vacant, as well as monitor the room's temperature to ensure to product is cold. During a test week, a 38% reduction in average power consumption was recorded.
A brief description of other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives employed by the institution:
Rice University actively participates in load-shedding programs to reduce electricity demand during times of peak energy consumption on the grid. Steps included in load-shedding include fuel-switching to natural gas, and a number of measures to reduce campus load, including rolling air conditioning reductions, calls for turning-off non-essential lighting, etc.
The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.