University of New Hampshire
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

FY 2001 is the baseline for our GHG reduction goal as well.

UNH has had a focus on energy conservation and efficiency for over 30 years. The Energy Task Force is constantly developing, implementing and evaluating outreach measures, and the Sustainability Institute consistently promotes and celebrates energy conservation in its outreach efforts. Over the years these have included “power down” initiatives in residence halls during breaks and the repetition of messages through Residential Life outreach materials that emphasize:
"1. By switching your lights off when you leave your room, you can do your part to make UNH a more sustainable community.

2. Leaving windows open in the winter affects your dorm floor, not only your room. Shut windows when you leave your room – your neighbors will thank you.

3. Remember to keep heaters unblocked during the winter to keep you and your roommates nice and cozy."

These messages were designed carefully to appeal to and reinforce values of community, affiliation, and service.

In addition, outreach about efficiency is embedded in UNH’s Green Office program (recently re-envisioned as the UNH Sustainability STARS Leadership program: https://www.unh.edu/sustainability/campus-initiatives/stars-leadership); and outreach via signage around campus celebrating energy conservation and urging building occupants to contribute.

In addition, UNH participated as one of 17 campuses in DOE's Smart Labs Accelerator program; as part of that effort we committed to an energy consumption reduction target of 20% over ten years, with one significant focus being helping to shift lab occupant behavior to avoid wasting energy.

All core campus buildings are tied to our energy management system, which increases and decreases temperatures based on occupancy and time schedules. Typical spaces are heated from 7am-10pm as a maximum M-F and off on weekends. We also use sensors to turn off space heating in some areas. For classrooms, we use the schedule from the registrar’s office to also shut down spaces when unused. If someone is in the space when the system is off, they have an override button that will give them 2 hours of heat. For areas not on the core campus, we employ programmable thermostats which mimic the normal hours for the space.

UNH does use LED lighting. More information can be found in the University of New Hampshire Construction and Renovation Standards - Section 16510 Interior Luminaries

Choice of fixtures are made with the following considerations:
a. Energy efficiency and sound rating
b. Quality of lighting
c. Ease of installation and installation flexibility
d. Ease of maintenance
e. Suitability for the specific application
f. Replacement parts availability
g. Consideration of potential abuse
UNH has also moved away from exterior metal halide fixtures and has identified LED replacements as the new exterior fixture of choice. We are already using them in walkway, street, and building exterior fixtures.
More information can be found at http://www.unh.edu/facilities/energy-utilities.

UNH has a small solar thermal array on one of our science buildings. but the effect on this on our overall energy load is relatively negligible. We are just on the verge of completing a two-year project to capture waste heat from a dedicated steam line that runs to one of our buildings for heating and cooling; the waste heat will be used to turn a turbine to generate some electricity for that building (Rudman Hall), which will reduce our need for purchased electricity by as much as 500,000 kWh annually.

As mentioned above, EcoLine is the primary fuel source for the on-campus cogeneration plant. The cogen plant retains waste heat normally lost during the production of electricity and instead uses this energy to heat buildings, in turn reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The installation of the plant resulted in an estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 21%.

As noted above, UNH participated in the DOE's Smart Labs Accelerator program; as part of that effort we have committed to an energy consumption reduction target of 20% over ten years, with one significant focus being increasing the efficiency of lab facilities and equipment. One core project was the replacement of ultra-low temperature freezers—with high efficiency models. See https://smartlabs.i2sl.org/cs-unh.html

We have an energy-efficiency revolving fund to help support and incentivize efficiency projects on campus. The EEF has invested in many projects, including:
• Efficient lighting retrofits across campus.
• Digital lighting controls in the main library.
• Insulating steam distribution piping.
• Upgrading a lab ventilation system in the engineering building. The building will also see one of the next investments, a passive solar heating system.
• Updated equipment in UNH's cogeneration plant.
• A retro-commissioning program which targets 5 to 20-year-old energy-intense buildings where we believe returning HVAC systems to peak performance can result in significant efficiency improvements.

Our grid-purchased energy dropped more than sevenfold between our baseline and performance year while energy from other stationary sources increased substantially. This is because we converted our central campus plant to a co-generation facility in 2006, five years after our baseline year, in order to increase our overall efficiency. This shift meant purchasing much less energy from our utility, while increasing the amount of (non-transportation) energy generated for use on campus. Growth between 2006 and 2017 further added to the amount of non-grid, non-transportation campus energy demand.
(2001 was chosen as a baseline for all energy and GHG reporting when UNH conducted its first comprehensive GHG inventory that year.)

http://www.unh.edu/facilities/energy-utilities

https://www.unh.edu/sustainability/campus-initiatives/energy