University of Rochester
OP-4: Building Operations and Maintenance

The Indoor Air Quality Policy:

Upon receiving an IAQ complaint or concern, EH&S will do a site visit to do a walkthrough of the space and interview building contacts and occupants regarding the concern. EHS investigates the area of concern to determine a probable cause (or causes) and then provides recommendations to the building manager or other parties as appropriate to rectify the situation. Often times, we bring our IAQ meter to measure common IAQ parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. If needed, we at times use a VOC (volatile organic chemical ) meter for situations such as odor complaints. EHS will also contact Facilities to do a check of the ventilation system to be sure outdoor air dampers are at designed settings, filter change out schedules are being followed, and inquire if any facilities work is being done in the area. If needed, EHS can perform more extensive assessments that include leaving the IAQ meter at the location for an extended time to log data to look for trends, or other additional sampling as needed. http://www.safety.rochester.edu/ih/iaq/iaqpolicy.html

The Energy Management Program:

All HVAC systems are managed under one of 4 building automation systems which are designed to maximize energy savings/reduction. Energy sequences include load shedding, peak demand limiting, optimal start programming, enthalpy/economization, sunrise/sunset outside lighting, zone scheduling and other energy demand control strategies.

The metering at the university is used for many reasons:
1) Tracking usage per building of the different utilities (CHW, HW, Steam, Electric, Gas, and Water) and stored for historical reference
2) Monthly reports for the different divisions/buildings for comparison and action (IE: meter reads higher than historical yields investigation)
3) EUI calculations for all the buildings from their meter data to gauge annual performance
4) Internal dashboard to look at building instantaneous EUI and energy history for troubleshooting and correction
5) Comparing building EUI against the average for each campus (IE: River Campus average vs bldg. on River Campus)
6) Metric on our external metering at our Central plant to verify efficient operation and distribution (KW/ton, etc)

The Water Management Program:

All major and most minor University buildings (approximately 85%) have water meters installed. The meters measure water consumption and report back to Central Utilities for data and billing purposes. Since the University receives our water from the city, there are a few major water meters that record major city water intakes. When the meters show excessive use of water, emergency notices are sent out to immediately remedy the problem.

The University of Rochester installs and replaces urinals and toilets with low-flow fixtures whenever possible. The University has replaced old taps and shower heads with low flow taps and showerheads and old toilets with low flow toilets throughout the dormitories, classrooms, and other buildings.

Landscaping on campus is designed so the plants do not need irrigation. Typical plant construction plans do not include irrigation designs instead favoring those that reduce water consumption. Native plants are included to maximize the survival of plantations, and currently annual, drought-tolerant flowers are grown as well. The goal is to reduce water usage by one-third. Native and drought-tolerant plants are selected for use in new landscape designs. Irrigation is installed to establish new plantings and is used during droughts.

The Horticulture and Grounds department monitors weather forecasts and when appropriate will direct manual adjustment of irrigation throughout the campus.

Guidelines for sustainable operations and maintenance on page 9 of the campus master plan.