| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.76 |
| Liaison | Lindsey MacDonald |
| Submission Date | June 6, 2023 |
Western Washington University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.83 / 6.00 |
Ashley
Olson Data Ambassador Sustainability Engagement Institute |
Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 31,983,890 Kilowatt-hours | 109,129.03 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) | 7,614.00 Kilowatt-hours | 25.98 MMBtu |
Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy | 239,699.14 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 0 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, performance year:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 767,271 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 0 Square feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Degree days, performance year:
| Degree days | |
| Heating degree days | 5,436 Degree-Days (°F) |
| Cooling degree days | 211.80 Degree-Days (°F) |
Total degree days, performance year:
Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
| Start date | End date | |
| Performance period | July 1, 2021 | June 30, 2022 |
Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity | 34,890,869.26 Kilowatt-hours | 119,047.65 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 | 234,370 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water | 0 MMBtu |
Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
| Start date | End date | |
| Baseline period | Oct. 1, 2012 | Sept. 30, 2013 |
A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Site energy | Source energy | |
| Performance year | 0.10 MMBtu per square foot | 0.16 MMBtu per square foot |
| Baseline year | 0.12 MMBtu per square foot | 0.20 MMBtu per square foot |
Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
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:
Western is a continuing member of the Commercial Strategic Energy Management program and regularly publishes engagement material regarding the use of energy in our facilities. This includes awareness regarding office shut down procedures, intersession break periods, as well as ongoing reporting requests from our facility operators.
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
WWU uses electronic timer functions within the computer based Building Automation Control System (BACS). These automated systems have many different industry standard names and acronyms. Also manual bypass occupancy timers are used for some zone control in addition to the BACS controls. All of the major facilities on campus have their Heating, Ventilating & Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems start and stop by these electronic timers. This is time of day scheduling that our Building Automation Control Technicians use to set the operating parameters of the HVAC systems. Additionally most private offices and gathering spaces have occupancy sensors that modulate both HVAC levels and lighting.
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
During the pandemic 17 facilities were upgraded to LED lighting in common areas. Additionally all perimeter outdoor lighting was replaced with Dark Sky compliant LED high efficiency fixtures. In January of 2023 the last remaining sports field with traditional high energy lighting was replaced with LED.
The university upgrades all failed lamps to LED upon burn out to ensure that any labor and materials related to operations of our buildings results in long term energy and material savings associated with LED lights.
The university also replaced 253 exterior lights and our practice field lights with dark sky compliant LED fixtures.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
There are several buildings that employ passive design for heating, ventilation, and lighting. Academic Instruction West is a fully passive ventilated structure with actuated windows controlled through our Building Automation Program. Our Chemistry building utilizes wind tunnel and computer models to disperse the exhaust fumes as efficiently as possible in response to local wind conditions. In addition, our newer buildings utilize thermal walls, natural lighting, and thermal mass to optimize energy use and in two instances are leveraged to be net-zero energy as defined in the ILFI Energy Petal rating system.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
Cogeneration was evaluated and determined to not be feasible in our plant.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
Western is continually working to upgrade our buildings and monitor opportunities for savings. In 2021 we completed ASHRAE level I-II audits with building models at 10 of our target buildings to identify additional opportunities for savings.
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:
Infrastructure improvements are being made currently including initial steps to convert the campus heating system from steam to a more energy efficient hot water
system.
Infrastructure improvements are being made currently including initial steps to convert the campus heating system from steam to a more energy efficient hot water
system.
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.