Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.35
Liaison Wesley Enterline
Submission Date April 22, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
OP-8: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.58 / 6.00 Wesley Enterline
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Planning and Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total building energy consumption, all sources (transportation fuels excluded):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total building energy consumption 448,579.70 MMBtu 334,770.60 MMBtu

Purchased electricity and steam:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 113,018 MMBtu 100,566 MMBtu
District steam/hot water 322,626 MMBtu 223,769 MMBtu

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 3,017,518 Gross square feet 2,564,128 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year::
Floor Area
Laboratory space 145,274 Square feet
Healthcare space 5,868 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F)::
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 8,357
Cooling degree days 549

Source-site ratios::
Source-Site Ratio (see help icon above)
Grid-purchased electricity 3.14
District steam/hot water 1.20

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods)::
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted:

As a signatory of the American College and University President's Climate Commitment, we embarked on the task of conducting our first greenhouse gas inventory officially conducted by the institution after July 2008, when the first campus Sustainability Coordinator was hired. This was his primary task upon being hired, and using the information from Fiscal Year 2008 was most practical and relevant.

At a similar time, more detailed data collection on electricity consumption at the building level was being initiated. This detailed data was combined with water and natural gas data that already existed through utility metering. Fiscal Year 2008 was one of the first years of complete data and also coincided with our first greenhouse gas inventory, so it is being used as a common baseline.


A brief description of any building temperature standards employed by the institution:

State of Wisconsin Department of Administration - Division of State Facilities (DSF)
Adopted November 2006:

Thermostats: In small buildings and in exterior zones of large buildings, adjust to 68 degrees F maximum in the winter and 76 degrees F minimum in the summer. Reduce to 60 degrees F during unoccupied winter hours.

In interior variable air volume zones of large buildings, adjust to 76 degrees F minimum.

In interior constant air volume zones of large buildings, adjust to 68 degrees F maximum in the winter and 76 degrees F* minimum in the summer. Reduce to 60 degrees F during unoccupied winter hours. *(For reheat systems, subject to discharge reset control strategy and temperature setting necessary to minimize cooling and reheat.)

In vestibules, stairwells, mechanical/electrical rooms, elevator equipment rooms, unoccupied storage and similar spaces, adjust to 60 degrees F in the winter.

Dress for comfort and plan for the conditions in your working environment.


A brief description of any light emitting diode (LED) lighting employed by the institution:

The area lighting LED project converted existing area lighting that used high pressure sodium and metal halide technology for the 664 fixtures that cover parking areas, sidewalks and streets. These fixtures consume 482,622 kWh per year. The LED area lighting consume 208,492.2 kWh per year at a 56.8% energy reduction for an annual savings of $21,930.40 ($0.08 per kWh).

LED lighting is currently being implemented for outdoor, building-mounted fixtures. Additionally, some interior common areas have been converted to LED lighting, although at this point it is limited and only part of remodeling projects, not an active retrofit.


A brief description of any occupancy and/or vacancy sensors employed by the institution:

Occupancy and vacancy sensors are integrated as part of the Metasys HVAC controls system to detect occupancy to ensure rooms are properly ventilated and have temperature control during appropriate times.


A brief description of any passive solar heating employed by the institution:

Besides an effort to integrate daylighting in new or renovated buildings whenever possible, there is no passive solar heating systems on campus.


A brief description of any ground-source heat pumps employed by the institution:

No ground-source heat pumps are employed.


A brief description of any cogeneration technologies employed by the institution:

The steam supplied to the campus is provided by a large co-generation plant located a couple miles northeast of campus. The steam is provided through a combination of above-ground and underground piping to the Central Heating Plant, where it is distributed using the campus steam network. Electricity is not provided directly to the campus by this power plant, but the overall higher efficiency of the plant allows us to purchase steam at a significant discount and the plant utilizes 100% natural gas, which is a cleaner fuel mix than we would be able to provide with on-campus generation.


A brief description of any building recommissioning or retrofit program employed by the institution:

PERFORMANCE CONTRACT:

JCI performance contract included Air Handling Unit (AHU) upgrades with the addition of VFDs, discharge air reset, and scheduling strategies. AHUs without Direct Digital Control (DDC) were also converted to DDC as appropriate. Lighting improvements include occupancy control and exit light upgrades, fluorescent fixture upgrades in UC. Water conservation measures included toilet replacement and retrofits of urinals, showerheads, and sinks. Cooling Towers VFD fans. Dishwasher at UC and two ovens at Esker replaced. VFD on CA building chilled water pump, AHU System cooling coils repiped two way valves, and AHU coil chilled water pumps removed. All motors 3 HP or larger upgraded to premium efficiency models.


A brief description of any energy metering and management systems employed by the institution:

The campus employs the Johnson Controls MetaSys HVAC controls system. Metasys connects your HVAC, lighting, security and protection systems, and gets them all “talking” to each other in a single language, on a single platform to give you information to make better decisions, save money and improve the way your building functions.

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/content/us/en/products/building_efficiency/products-and-systems/building_management/metasys.html


A brief description of the institution's program to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives:

An effort to minimize the life-cycle cost of all equipment and appliances includes a calculation of the energy consumption. In particular, implementing variable frequency drives in various HVAC systems across campus allow us to dial back energy consumption in these systems when they are not at peak use.


A brief description of any energy-efficient landscape design initiatives employed by the institution:

The campus has implemented "no-mow zones" in various areas around campus. These areas of turf grass are not utilized regularly for recreation and are not in key areas of the academic core, so the regular mowing schedule was reduced significantly.

Additionally, the campus grounds crew has been able to significantly reduce the amount of push mowing or string trimming done, which is a less efficient use of fuel and is more time-consuming. Perennial plantings of various decorative plants like daylilies are used around poles and beds are planted in areas that would normally be mowed with a push mower (like parking islands). This allows us to use riding deck mowers to quickly and efficiently take care of lawn areas.


A brief description of any vending machine sensors, lightless machines, or LED-lit machines employed by the institution:

Vending machine sensors were determined to be infeasible because the card readers that allow for campus ID money (called Purple Points) cannot be powered down without significant delay in reboot.

All other best practices for vending machines are left to the discretion of the beverage contractor. Incorporating more energy-efficient models is done to replace existing machines.


A brief description of other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives employed by the institution:

LIGHTING: Kachel Fieldhouse Lighting Retrofit, Williams Center Gym 1 Lighting Retrofit, Williams Center Gym 2 & 3 Lighting Retrofit, Williams Center Gym 4 Lighting Retrofit, Williams Center Common Area Lighting Retrofit, Center for Students with Disabilities Lighting Retrofit, Ambrose Health Center Rocker Room Lighting Retrofit, Physical Arts Lab Lighting Retrofit, Drawing Lab Lighting Retrofit, Heating Plant Lighting Replacement, Center of the Arts Sign Replacement, Schwager Road Lighting Retrofit, Parking Lot Lighting Retrofits (#7, #18, new parts of #2 and #8), General Services Building Lighting Retrofit.

STEAM: Heating Plant Steam Trap Replacement, Campus Steam Pit Steam Trap Replacement, Chiller System Air/Dirt Separator

HVAC – AIR HANDLING: Upham Hall Exhaust Fan VFD Drives, Williams Center Gym 1 Air Handler, Ambrose Hall VAV Conversion, HVAC Controls, Cutbacks and Recalibration, McGraw Server Room AC

BUILDING ENVELOPE: Winther Hall Vestibule, Center for Students with Disabilities Window Replacement, General Services Window Replacement


The website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.