University of Minnesota, Duluth
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

We used 2007 as it was the first year the campus greenhouse gas emissions inventory was calculated.

UMD has a Building Systems Control Center, and uses building control systems both from Siemans and Johnson Control companies. The BSAC staff revise and control the temperature schedule each year, based on occupancy hours. In addition, new building occupants in LEED buildings get a building "User Guide" that explains the temperature controls.

The UMD campus uses LED lighting in both interior (lecture halls, classrooms, elevators and safety/Exit signs) and exterior (street, path, and parking lot lighting).

Lighting sensors to control use of electricity are present throughout many buildings on campus: some sensors are motion detectors, some are occupancy sensors, and others sense the amount of light available in a room. All newer buildings use light sensing technologies, but as older buildings are retrofitted, lighting sensors are also added.

The Bagley Classroom uses passive solar heating (it was designed to meet Passive House standards) Large, triple pane, south facing windows provide the building with plenty of natural sunlight as well as passive solar heating during the winter months. Additional natural lighting is provided by solar tubes in the ceiling. The building has an airtight envelope, allowing just 0.47 air changes per hour (as opposed to 5.0 for a typical home). Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP), produced with 100% recycled material in a South Dakota factory, surround the building; the panels are thick and have few thermal breaks where heat loss and condensation can occur. See: https://umdsustain.wp.d.umn.edu/campus-initiatives/buildings/green-buildings/bagley-outdoor-classroom/

UMD recommissioned the UMD Library's various heating, ventilation and cooling systems to save energy and reduce expenses. All heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) were inspected to ensure they are operating correctly, and within the original design specifications. A number of the systems in the library were not operating the way they were supposed to function. UMD hired Hallberg Engineering to take a deep look at the library’s HVAC systems to see if they could find any areas where we could improve. The recommissioning project consisted of reviewing building usage, analyzing energy consumption patterns, and then coming up with possible solutions that would work for our budget. Hallberg Engineering found twelve main Energy Conservation Opportunities, and eight of those would have a payback of ten years or less. A ‘payback’ is when the cost savings of an upgrade or fix would equal the cost of the upgrade or fix itself. By implementing these eight Energy Conservation Opportunities, UMD would save over $27,900 annually. Since the recommissioning project ended, UMD’s Maintenance & Operations Supervisor has been leading his crew to implement the various recommendations. See: https://umdsustain.wp.d.umn.edu/umd-library-recommissioning/

Many buildings are now tracking electricity use through a program that UMD Building Systems is installing (Square D). This electricity information is available to Building Systems staff, along with UMD Sustainability Office staff. Although there are kinks to work out in the system, we are already seeing benefits of monitoring electricity use to manage a building. For example: The Bagley Classroom was using more energy than engineering models had predicted, so the system was used to watch where electricity use was highest. This led Building Systems Staff to find and fix problems to reduce electricity use, including supporting the decision to remove two (malfunctioning) composting toilets.

UMD has a Refrigerator Exchange Program The first program funded through the Green Revolving Fund was the Refrigerator Exchange Program. Faculty and staff at UMD can apply to upgrade old, inefficient department refrigerators and the Green Fund will cover up to half of the cost of replacement. Since it began in 2011, the Green Revolving Fund has helped replace 36 old refrigerators, freezers, and chillers on campus. Through energy efficiency and consolidation, the replacement of equipment is estimated to save UMD over 38,000 kilowatt-hours worth of electricity annually, and over $2,700 each year in electricity costs. More importantly, the savings from upgrading to more efficient equipment saves 29 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

The newly remodeled UMD VenDen contains LED-lit vending machines. All of the soda machines are brand new, and Coca Cola provided energy-saving options to save energy (compressors are on timers, and save energy overnight.) The project also consolidated vending services from 15 machines down to 8. Vending Misers were installed on a half dozen soda machines on campus, mainly in Housing and one in the Administration building. This work was initiated and performed by MPIRG student volunteers. In addition, the UMD Sustainability Office was given an additional 3 Vending Misers to install, and we are searching for appropriate places for these on the main campus.

Efforts to reduce our energy usage include building energy efficient buildings (see Building Design and Construction section in STARS) sensible building controls (timers, scheduling, energy conservation over breaks), and even adopting a (new, January 2015) Campus Temperature Standard (heating limit 68-70 degrees, cooling limit 74-76 degrees).