Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.70
Liaison Kelly Wellman
Submission Date Dec. 2, 2021

STARS v2.2

Texas A&M University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.29 / 6.00 Les Williams
Associate Dir For Utilities & Energy Management
Utilities & Energy Management
"---" 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 454,446,870 Kilowatt-hours 1,550,572.72 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 1,716,176 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
3,266,748.72 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
29,603,184 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 4,601,955 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 11,509,205 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
50,316,299 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 1,772 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 3,166 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
4,938 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Sept. 1, 2019 Aug. 31, 2020

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

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

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 226,037,000 Kilowatt-hours 771,238.24 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 4,909,874 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
5,681,112.24 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
18,501,138 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Sept. 1, 2001 Aug. 31, 2002

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The baseline year of FY02 represents the start of a long journey to reduce the energy consumption of the campus. It represents the last year before many of the changes were implemented to make our campus more sustainable through energy reduction. This baseline was used to inform our Sustainability Master Plan evergreen goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3.14

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.11 MMBtu per square foot 0.22 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.31 MMBtu per square foot 0.40 MMBtu per square foot

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
43.87

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:
Texas A&M has a long history of trying to shape the attitudes of faculty, staff, and students attitudes. The Energy Stewardship program continues its outreach to educate the campus constituents about energy efficiency. The newly formed Energy Performance Improvement or EPI program takes the Energy Stewardship program to the next level by engaging and incentivizing building occupants to take action to reduce energy consumption. During the pilot phase, the program cost avoided over $500k during the 12 month pilot period. The program was a success and we have launched a full-scale initiative that will cost avoid an additional $1 million in its first year.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
Texas A&M University has adopted a cooling standard of 70 degrees F and a heating standard of 65 degrees F across the campus. More importantly, when buildings or space is not occupied, the standard automatically resets to the unoccupied standard of 85 for cooling and 50 for heating.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
During FY17, Texas A&M upgraded all high pressure sodium and lower efficiency metal halide exterior lighting 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:
Texas A&M University has installed a $73.25 million combined heat and power upgrade that will supply over 45 MW of highly efficient power and steam generation to serve the campus. This system replaces an existing CHP system and achieves efficiencies in excess of 80%.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
The campus created the first Energy Stewardship program in FY11 and currently has a fully staffed team of 6 Energy Stewards and a Supervisor. This team is responsible for closely monitoring and managing the campus energy consumption on a daily basis. This team relies on the data from the campus' comprehensive metering system to measure the energy consumption of the buildings and to make changes when necessary.

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 previous STARS reporting, imported electricity was reported in mmBTU and the campus has historically applied a "Source Heat Rate" of 8,110 to convert to mmBTU. This most closely approximates the grid heat rate. The most recent report simply asked for kWh and uses a different heat rate which most closely approximates a site heat rate. This is what makes the data looking different this year as compare to previous.

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.