Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.20
Liaison Jonathan Rausseo
Submission Date March 29, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Ottawa
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.97 / 6.00 Jonathan Chiasson
Mechanical and Electrical Technologist
Physical Resources Service
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 302,258.80 MMBtu 242,130.18 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site renewables 85.23 MMBtu 0 MMBtu
District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) 41,630.12 MMBtu 29,271.59 MMBtu
Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) 242,130.18 MMBtu 380,478.66 MMBtu
Total 586,104.33 MMBtu 651,880.43 MMBtu

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year May 1, 2015 April 30, 2016
Baseline Year May 1, 2005 April 30, 2006

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):

Historically this number has been used for our STARS reporting. It is also the baseline of the Copenhagen Accord and we have been measuring our progress again that since our office opened in 2006.


Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area of building space 577,662 Gross square meters 465,345 Gross square meters

Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
2.05

Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Site energy 0.09 MMBtu per square meter 0.13 MMBtu per square meter
Source energy 0.15 MMBtu per square meter 0.18 MMBtu per square meter

Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
19.46

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 4,098 Degree-Days (°C)
Cooling degree days 383 Degree-Days (°C)

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 35,529 Square meters
Healthcare space 0 Square meters
Other energy intensive space

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
6,982,763.97 Gross square meters

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

Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
---

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):

Most of the interventions performed by the University are hidden and do not require the active participation of most building users (energy retrofits of HVAC equipment). However, there are a few programs that the University capitalizes on to reduce energy consumption during select times.
-Demand Response Events - The University sends messages to all staff ahead of a Demand Response event to warn them about any disturbances and to encourage them to help out by not activating energy intensive equipment.
- Holidays and vacations - The University send messages to staff ahead of holidays encouraging them to power down to save on energy.
- Reports - The University regularly reports on its energy performance to staff and students through the website, meeting presentations, and the website.


A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):

Each building is monitored for all its utilities. Building systems are relayed to a central monitoring system which operates in conjunction with the campus class schedule, temperature set points, and CO2 monitoring. The information is used to make adjustments for the appropriate occupancy depending on heating or cooling season.


A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:

The University has been opportunistically added LEDs for appropriate applications on campus. Currently, the university has invested in a strategy to do a bulk switch out of fluorescent T8 and T5 bulbs for LED tubes. The complete campus retrofit should be completed by the end of 2017.


A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:

The University of Ottawa does not have a comprehensive strategy to utilize passive solar heating or geothermal systems. Decisions are made on a case by case basis. The University does use trees, green roofs, and other landscaping elements to reduce cooling and heating requirements, but these too are not part of a formal strategy.


A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):

The university no longer uses a combined heat and power system on campus.


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):

The Univerisity has a program in place to re-engineer inefficient systems and replace energy-consuming equipment, formally names the EcoProsperity program. The program has been in place for almost a decade and targets at least one major project a year.

The University also has a green procurement policy which encourages the purchase of energy efficient equipment.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Energy related data was obtained from our annual energy report to the Province.

Degree days were calculated using the suggested website DegreeDays.net


Energy related data was obtained from our annual energy report to the Province.

Degree days were calculated using the suggested website DegreeDays.net

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.