Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.15
Liaison Lori Collins-Hall
Submission Date March 5, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Sterling College (VT)
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.82 / 6.00 Kelly Jones
Manager
Buildings and Grounds
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 112.17 MMBtu 79.33 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site renewables 448.68 MMBtu 370 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) 4,576.77 MMBtu 4,576.77 MMBtu
Total 5,137.62 MMBtu 5,026.10 MMBtu

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2019 June 30, 2020
Baseline Year July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016

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):

We started tracking our kilowatt hours for our first year completing the AASHE STARS report. The baseline year is the 2015-2016 academic year as that was when we had added the 11-panel solar array. With the exception of this: we hadn't kept track of heating oil until this year, so that will define our baseline for this report.


Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area of building space 57,076 Gross square feet 57,076 Gross square feet

Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
3.14

Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Site energy 0.09 MMBtu per square foot 0.09 MMBtu per square foot
Source energy 0.09 MMBtu per square foot 0.09 MMBtu per square foot

Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
0

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 8,011 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 299 Degree-Days (°F)

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 1,455 Square feet
Healthcare space 251 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
61,892 Gross square feet

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

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):

Because we are so proud of our solar panel arrays, we do our best to keep students in the know of what we have accomplished, and what is in the works regarding energy efficiency. This includes adding updates to any sustainability newsletters and publications that are disseminated.


A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):

We are putting low wattage circulator pumps on furnaces.


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

We are retrofitting all of our old light fixtures to LED.


A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
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A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
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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):

Any time the College upgrades a building or has to replace fixtures in a building, we ensure that we upgrade lights to LED, upgrade toilets and sinks to be WaterSense labeled, and any appliances to be Energy Star rated.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

We have three separate locations for our solar panels, so here is the breakdown:

1 panel on barn, Site #2004 produced 5,098.1 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/2004/2019

2 panels, Site #294 produced 11,997 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/294/2019

11 panels placed in 2016, Site #3440 produced 114,399.4 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/3440/2019

Baseline for energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) had not been previously set so Sterling is using the 2019-2020 numbers as our new baseline.


We have three separate locations for our solar panels, so here is the breakdown:

1 panel on barn, Site #2004 produced 5,098.1 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/2004/2019

2 panels, Site #294 produced 11,997 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/294/2019

11 panels placed in 2016, Site #3440 produced 114,399.4 KWH in the 2019-2020 academic year.
https://reports.allearthrenewables.com/report/detail/3440/2019

Baseline for energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) had not been previously set so Sterling is using the 2019-2020 numbers as our new baseline.

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.