| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 46.82 |
| Liaison | Ashley Woolman |
| Submission Date | May 16, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western Colorado University
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.79 / 6.00 |
Ashley
Woolman Sustainability Coordinator Facilities Services |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1
This credit is based on energy inputs from offsite sources and electricity produced by onsite renewables. When the institution purchases one fuel and uses it to produce heat and/or power, you should enter only what is purchased. For example, if the institution purchases natural gas to fuel a CHP system and produce steam and electricity, only the purchased natural gas should be reported.
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 29,775 MMBtu | 27,869 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site renewables | 48 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) | 0 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
| Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) | 71,051 MMBtu | 93,791 MMBtu |
| Total | 100,874 MMBtu | 121,660 MMBtu |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2006 | June 30, 2007 |
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):
The baseline was established when students lobbied our President to sign the ACUPCC, which created the Sustainable Action Committee to implement our first climate action plan. This also established our GHG inventory and data tracking, so we can measure progress towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area of building space | 1,125,141 Gross square feet | 1,036,492 Gross square feet |
Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
3.14
Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Site energy | 0.09 MMBtu per square foot | 0.12 MMBtu per square foot |
| Source energy | 0.15 MMBtu per square foot | 0.17 MMBtu per square foot |
Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
16.37
Part 2
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 8,138 Degree-Days (°F) |
| Cooling degree days | 26 Degree-Days (°F) |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 14,477 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 1,250 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,199,095
Gross square feet
Building energy consumption (site energy) per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
10.30
Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)
Optional Fields
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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):
The Director of Sustainability writes a monthly newsletter than often addresses energy consumption and promotes energy efficiency projects on campus. Western also has a Sustainability Fund that students can use to implement various energy efficiency type projects (LED light conversions, etc). LEAD Office student sustainability coordinators engage students on various sustainability topics throughout the year, including energy. Our green purchasing policy addresses energy and purchasing energy efficient technology whenever possible. Also, we are implementing a green department certification to help change behaviors surrounding energy, zero waste, etc.
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
Temperature standards are carefully scheduled and controlled through our campus wide Energy Management System. Specially trained professionals in the Facilities Department constantly monitor and adjust the EMS schedules for "Occupied" and "Unoccupied" time durations based on user feedback and direct observation. Providing lower set point temperatures during unoccupied times is critical to minimizing energy consumption. The EMS system synchronizes the scheduling algorithms with the PID loop controllers for the air handlers in each building to maximize efficiency and keep temperatures as close to set points as possible.
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Our current lamp replacement policy is to replace any burned out bulbs with LED lighting. As mentioned above, students using the Sustainability Fund have installed LED lights in Chipeta dorm. Also, our Housing Director is constantly working to switch to LED lights in the other dorms as the budget allows. New construction is built to LEED Gold standards.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
All of the domestic hot water for Kelly Hall (30,126sf) is supplied by a passive solar heating system. We are currently building a computer science and engineering building that will make use of a geothermal system and will be completed in the next year.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
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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):
Western's green purchasing policy addresses the need to replace appliances with energy efficient models as the budget allows. Facilities takes a similar approach of replacing failing equipment or appliances with higher efficiency alternatives. For example, we replaced our aging steam system in Paul Wright Gym with a new high efficiency hydronic system in 2018. In addition, Western performed an overhaul of the entire HVAC system in our science building (Hurst Hall) in 2017. This included new system controls to better regulate temperatures and airflows throughout the building. We have also had outside companies perform building energy audits and equipment audits in order to get recommendations for necessary upgrades. For example, Ameresco performed energy audits in 2009-2010 and Johnstone Supply audited our building HVAC equipment for upgrades in 2018. Many of their recommendations have been implemented or will be as our budget allows.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.