University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
IN-2: Innovation 2

Exemplary Performance: Energy Metering UNC Energy Services manages the energy supply infrastructure on campus and meters the use of that energy in each campus building. Real time steam meters measure the steam used in each of 175 campus buildings. The steam is produced by a combined heat and power plant that has a 32 megawatt generating capacity. Steam is used for heating, humidification, domestic hot water heating, sterilization and making distilled water. Steam system design and metering requirements are available at http://www.energy.unc.edu/cogeneration-systems-documents/Steam-Requirements-October-2003.pdf Real time chilled water meters measure the chilled water used in each of 150 campus buildings that are served by the 50,000 ton district cooling system. The chilled water is produced by five networked chilled water plants that together comprise one of the most sophisticated chilled water generating systems in the world. The system features a 5,000,000 gallon thermal storage system which is charged at night when real-time electric prices are low and discharged during the day when electric prices are high. The thermal storage system reduces the University's electric demand on the utility by 12 MW. The chilled water plants are interconnected and operated as one production system using a networked Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. From a single console, operators can manage and balance loads among the chiller plants and view the bridge interface systems that ensure that the buildings receive and efficiently use the chilled water to meet their cooling demand. 90% plus of UNC’s electric load metering is real time with active projects to connect additional meters to the central system. The Morrison Residence Hall is the first campus building with a real time energy dashboard that is available on a large screen in the lobby and via the internet. Interval and historical energy metering data is analyzed by engineers in multiple departments to identify and implement energy efficiency and operational improvements.