Campus Green Builder

By Richard Johnson, Director of Sustainability, Rice University

When are reductions in energy consumption verifiable savings?

With the emergence of the ACUPCC and increasing focus on energy costs and supplies, universities across America are pursuing measures to reduce their energy consumption and their greenhouse gas emissions. As these schools attempt to measure their results and document savings, I ask how do they really know when they are saving energy?

Let’s assume that a campus building is metered for all utilities, and that these utilities can be tracked on a weekly basis. And further, let’s assume a two-week experiment, and that at the beginning of the second week space temperatures in the building are changed as part of a new campus building temperature policy to reflect what is considered to be a more efficient range. If the meter readings were lower in week two than week one, can a utility manager conclude that the energy conservation measure was a success? Given our experience at Rice University, we would argue that the answer is no.

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By JR Fulton, Architect, LEED® AP, Housing and Food Services, University of Washington;
Kurt Haapala, AIA , LEED® AP, Associate Mahlum; and
Ron van der Veen, AIA, LEED® AP, Principal Mithun, AASHE Board of Directors

Energy efficient buildings can be designed, built or renovated to use less than half of their present operational energy while maintaining high quality, health, and comfort. This can be done without significant capital investment costs. Energy efficient buildings cost less over the life of the building, reduce the total cost of ownership, reduce energy and operational costs and significantly reduce carbon emissions. Building in energy efficiency can “futureproof” the University and make it more resilient. But you have to ask for it!

In order to significantly reduce our future carbon footprint in campus construction, it is necessary to provide a very strong focus on energy efficient buildings. One of the most prudent ways to do this is to require an aggressive energy reduction requirement for all university new building and major renovation projects. The Architecture 2030 organization has created the 2030 Challenge that provides the framework for producing energy efficient buildings now and carbon neutral buildings by 2030. Adopting and mandating a building energy efficiency standard like the 2030 Challenge for campus construction will significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The 2030 Challenge should be a cornerstone of your Climate Action Plan.

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By Jeffrey M. Baker, Director, Office of Laboratory Operations, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Commercial buildings account for 19% of the nation’s energy consumption, according to the Energy Information Administration, so when the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) decided to build a new office building to house its staff, energy performance was naturally a top priority. The new Research Support Facilities (RSF), currently in construction on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is utilizing a wide variety of energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption by 50% over standard commercial buildings. But the goal to achieve a LEED Platinum rating didn’t override a focus on cost. The RSF’s construction costs are competitive with today’s less energy efficient commercial buildings, proof that energy efficiency doesn’t have to come at a premium.

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