University of Connecticut
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

This baseline was adopted because it is the earliest year for which accurate data is available.

Every fall semester, the Office of Sustainability (OS) encourages students to conserve energy and water by organizing a competition among dorms called EcoMadness. Each floor is assigned an EcoCaptain, a student volunteer, who puts on a variety of different programming designed to educate students on energy and water conservation. The OS also sends each dorm weekly snapshots of their energy and water consumption. Carbon offsets are purchased in the name of the winning dorm. Starting in 2020 being an EcoCaptain will be a paid position. This will increase interest in the position and further promote sustainability literacy and programs in the dorms. https://ecohusky.uconn.edu/ecomadness/ The OS also administers UConn's Green Office Certification Program, which promotes more sustainable behaviors and practices among faculty and staff in the UConn workplace. https://ecohusky.uconn.edu/green-office-certification-program/

Minimum Temperature Setpoints for VAV Terminals: All VAV terminal boxes capable of both heating and cooling shall be programmed with a minimum of 5 temperature setpoints as follows: Unoccupied Cooling Setpoint (Default 82 °F) Occupied Cooling Setpoint (1.5° above Default 73.5 °F) Base Room Setpoint (Default 72 °F) Occupied Heating Setpoint (1.5° below Room Setpoint: Default 70.5 °F) Unoccupied Heating Setpoint (Default 60 °F) Much more information on start-up, shut-down, etc. in Building Automation System Standards (pg. 16-23, Section 5.1: VAV with/without Reheat and/or Radiation) http://paes.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1525/2016/04/Design-Guidelines-and-Performance-Standards-March-2016.pdf Lighting system upgrades to LEDs also include the installation of controls like motion and occupancy sensors, which turn off the light when they stop detecting movement; and daylight sensors, which maximize use of sunlight by turning on the lights only when natural light is insufficient for people to see inside the area. The combination of these efficient lighting systems and sensors could reduce the lighting electricity demand by up to 59% in some buildings 139 buildings have been re-lamped and 26 of the most energy intensive buildings have been retro-commissioned since 2010. These projects include adding motion and occupancy sensors for controlling either lighting or HVAC.

UConn is committed to full LED retrofit, campus-wide (interior and exterior lighting). There were 220 re-lamping projects between 2010 and 2019 to reduce C02 emissions by 8,764 metric tons. Re-lamping is currently underway on additional buildings and will yield another 4,942 metric ton reduction in CO2 emissions once completed. Re-lamping of outdoor lighting for student and employee parking lots will reduce CO2 emissions 1,865 metric tons once completed.

Design Guidelines and Performance Standards (pg. 25, Section 4.3: Energy Conservation): http://paes.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1525/2016/04/Design-Guidelines-and-Performance-Standards-March-2016.pdf “Reduce Conditioning Loads: To reduce a buildings dependence on mechanical heating and cooling, the Designer should design exterior wall assemblies to be a minimum of R-19 and roof assemblies to a minimum of R-30. All glazing should incorporate double-glazed insulated glass units with a low-E coating, argon-filled with a U-factor of ≤ 0.27. Seasonal shading (e.g., deciduous trees, porches, horizontal sun shades and roof overhangs) should be provided to south facing glazing. Thermal mass should be incorporated within a building, since high mass buildings can stabilize temperature swings by storing heat during the day and releasing it during the evening, thus reducing the building’s peak cooling loads.”

UConn’s 25 MW natural gas-fired cogeneration facility is classified as a Class III Renewable Energy source by the State of Connecticut and it generates Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), based on its high efficiency factor as a microgrid source of combined heat, cooling and power for nearly 90% of the main campus. In turn, UConn uses proceeds from these REC sales to finance sustainable energy and energy efficiency projects, like retro-commissioning, re-lamping and more. The cogen facility produces 100% of the core campus's electricity needs, while the remainder of electricity for more remote portions of the main campus is purchased from ConEd with a renewables contract specifying that a minimum of 100% of the amount purchased be produced from renewable sources. The University’s Cogeneration facility uses natural gas, with ultra-low sulfur fuel oil (ULSF) as a back-up fuel source, to fire three Solar Taurus 70 combustion turbine generators to produce electricity. Waste heat from the turbines is used to produce high pressure steam, which is then used in a steam turbine generator to produce additional electricity. The steam turbine exhaust or reduced steam is supplied to internal plant use, to provide Chilled Water via the three York absorption chillers or to the campus distribution network. The network reduces the steam to low pressure 65 psig for building heating and kitchen service.

UConn has had a longstanding policy, in accordance with state law, that requires the purchase of only Energy Star-rated appliances and EPEAT computers. Thus, as older appliances, equipment, PCs, laptops and other devices are retired, they have been, and will continue to be, replaced by more efficient state-of-the-art models. It is estimated that approximately 10-20% of appliances, copiers, PCs and other electronic equipment are replaced each year. UConn has also completed retro-commissioning (RCx) at 26 of the most energy intensive buildings on campus since 2010, resulting in reducing 13,237 TPY of eCO2.