Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.83
Liaison Alex Roman Gonzalez
Submission Date March 10, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Cincinnati
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.81 / 6.00 Daniel Hart
Sustainability Coordinator
Planning + Design + Construction
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

This credit is based on energy inputs from offsite sources and electricity produced by onsite renewables. When the institution purchases one fuel and uses it to produce heat and/or power, you should enter only what is purchased. For example, if the institution purchases natural gas to fuel a CHP system and produce steam and electricity, only the purchased natural gas should be reported.

Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 527,813 MMBtu 919,585 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site renewables 0 MMBtu 0 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) 2,398,706 MMBtu 1,466,505 MMBtu
Total 2,926,519 MMBtu 2,386,090 MMBtu

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2008 June 30, 2009

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):
For consistency's sake we have adopted a 2009 baseline across the board for all STARS operational credits, as that is the earliest year for which we have strong consistent data sets across categories.

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area of building space 14,510,838 Gross square feet 13,705,694 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 0.20 MMBtu per square foot 0.17 MMBtu per square foot
Source energy 0.28 MMBtu per square foot 0.32 MMBtu per square foot

Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
12.01

Part 2 

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 4,609 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 1,282 Degree-Days (°F)

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 1,273,071 Square feet
Healthcare space 98,923 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
20,452,318 Gross square feet

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

Optional Fields 

Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) 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 (e.g. outreach and education efforts):
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A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
The University of Cincinnati’s campus is actively controlled by a comprehensive centralized building monitoring system (BMS). This BMS system allows for a sophisticated control of many of the largest pieces of equipment, lighting and HVAC systems operating throughout the campus buildings. Beyond the BMS, the preferred temperature control setpoints for the buildings during occupied periods at the university are 70°F heating and 75°F cooling. The University's staff sets back the temperatures and the airflows wherever possible. UC's unoccupied building temperature setpoints are 65°F heating and 78°F cooling. These unoccupied periods are determined by either an occupancy sensor or time of day schedule.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
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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):
UC's central plant is a tri-generation facility, efficiently producing electricity, steam and chilled water. See http://www.uc.edu/af/utilities/production.html

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):
See http://www.uc.edu/news/nr.aspx?id=21381

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:
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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.