Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.73
Liaison Gary Cocke
Submission Date May 11, 2023

STARS v2.2

The University of Texas at Dallas
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.20 / 6.00 Gary Cocke
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 94,421,479.60 Kilowatt-hours 322,166.09 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 340,432 Kilowatt-hours 1,161.55 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 390,689.34 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
714,016.98 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
6,966,790 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 877,345.89 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 0 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
8,721,481.78 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 2,182 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 2,492 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
4,674 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Sept. 1, 2020 Aug. 31, 2021

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
17.52 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Part 2. Reduction in source energy use per unit of floor area

Baseline year energy consumption

STARS 2.2 requires electricity data in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If a baseline has already been established in a previous version of STARS and the institution wishes to continue using it, the electricity data must be re-entered in kWh. To convert existing electricity figures from MMBtu to kWh, simply multiply by 293.07107 MMBtu/kWh.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 59,138,431 Kilowatt-hours 201,780.33 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 6,778.35 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
208,558.68 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
2,772,487 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Sept. 1, 2006 Aug. 31, 2007

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The baseline year was chosen because it preceeds a recent construction boom that has more than doubled the campus square footage with larger, modern, energy-efficient buildings.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3.14

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.10 MMBtu per square foot 0.20 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.08 MMBtu per square foot 0.23 MMBtu per square foot

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
12.78

Optional Fields 

Documentation 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:
- Green Office Certification trains staff on how to change their workplace to be more energy efficient and sustainable
- Earth Week includes multiple events that teach students about sustainability and an Earth Fair for sustainability organizations and businesses
- AASHE Sustainability Month is held every October and catalyzes students to act through a variety of sustainability related events

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
Facilities Management maintains all HVAC systems at the set points of 74 in summer and 72 in winter. When it does not effect operations, HVAC systems are turned off at night. Approximately 60% of campus HVAC is turned off every night.

Construction standards for all new buildings at UT Dallas include occupancy sensors and LED exterior lighting.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
UT Dallas is committed to energy conservation and transitioning away from high energy use lighting. Revolving Fund is utilized to fund LED retrofits throughout campus. The construction standards require LED’s for exterior lighting. The Research and Operations Center West and Bio engineering Science Building are LED only buildings.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
The LEED Platinum Student Service Building utilizes a solar thermal hot water system.

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
UT Dallas utilizes a 3.5 kW co-generation plant for power outages. Other than for planned and/or unplanned outages, the plant is not in daily operation.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
UT Dallas has 3-5 capital projects per year upgrading systems to more efficient alternatives. These projects are implemented by FM Building. Upgrades to constant volume HVAC systems are taking place to convert buildings to VAV with VFD. The Central Energy Plant is also being upgraded with a new chill water pump that will be higher efficiency.

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
FY2021 natural gas usage was significantly increased due to the February 2021 blackouts that occurred across the ERCOT grid. During this period, our Central Energy Plant was used to produce power for campus, as it does in case of all blackouts. The Central Energy Plant uses natural gas to produce this energy. This significantly increased our natural gas usage during FY2021 from the approximate 91,000 MMBtus used in FY2018.

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.