Maintaining Energy Efficiency at a University

Heating and cooling systems are among the largest electricity consumers on a college campus. Managing these building automation systems is challenging because they require a significant staff equipped with knowledge and expertise. Because of this, many colleges are understaffed, which causes them to ignore minor issues that often become expensive repairs or replacement projects.

But what if there was a way to adopt an ongoing approach that increases energy efficiency at a university? Read on to learn about how university buildings use energy and some tips for maximizing sustainability on a college campus.

How Much Electricity Does a University Use?

Colleges and universities spend an average of $1.10 per square foot on electricity and 18 cents per square foot on natural gas. These numbers may seem small initially, but that’s the average, meaning a good portion of buildings are well above this figure, and these figures increase significantly once you consider how many buildings exist on a campus. Also, because many schools are expanding their campus footprint to meet student housing and classroom size needs, the issue is compounding. The reduction of maintenance teams and their budgets have made it more difficult than ever to properly service and maintain critical equipment.

Simple Fixes That Increase Energy Efficiency at a University

Finding low- or no-cost solutions to decrease energy costs is a top priority for any university administration. Here are some tips that staff, faculty members, and students can embrace that impact energy use:

Turn Off Lights

Whether it’s students leaving their dorm rooms or teachers exiting their classrooms, getting them in the habit of turning lights off on their way out is an effective sustainability practice. Hanging posters with reminders helps promote this energy-savings strategy. Also, consider installing occupancy sensors that turn lights off after a predetermined time of inactivity.

Schedule HVAC Systems

Office buildings, classrooms, and even dorm facilities experience periods of limited or zero occupancies. Having HVAC systems run during these hours wastes energy and increases utility bills. Adopting an energy conservation strategy that coordinates building automation systems with occupied hours reduces costs and maximizes the useful life of the equipment.

Maintain Equipment

Regularly cleaning and maintenance of equipment keeps them in proper condition and increases their efficiency. Even simple tasks like changing filters, cleaning coils, and ensuring air dampers operate properly enhance campus sustainability.

Turn Computers Off

Did you know laptops and desktop computers continue drawing electricity even in standby mode? Implementing an energy management program where students and faculty turn off computers and other electronic equipment when not in use and reduce campus energy usage.

Proactive Solutions That Increase Energy Efficiency at a University

While implementing low- or no-cost solutions can help in the advancement of sustainability on a college campus, administrations serious about creating an eco-friendly environment should consider the following strategies:

Retrofit Boilers

Boiler retrofit projects can significantly enhance sustainability in higher education buildings. This can include performing annual maintenance and combustion analysis to optimize firing rates and updating burner controls. Where possible, grouping multiple smaller boilers instead of installing one major unit allows your maintenance team to stage operation and keep the equipment at its highest efficiency for extended periods.

Perform a Commissioning Study

Commissioning studies are a quality assurance strategy that inspect and test your HVAC and building automation systems. Many air distribution issues are difficult to notice because HVAC systems work harder to maintain occupant comfort; having a commissioning study done can uncover these difficult-to-spot problems.

Utilize Demand-Controlled Ventilation

Many campus buildings have gyms, classrooms, cafeterias, and auditoriums that are only occupied during specific hours but are ventilated as if they were always at full capacity. A demand-controlled ventilation system judges occupancy by measuring carbon dioxide levels and uses that data to control the amount of outside air supplied to the room.

Leverage Existing Building Automation Systems

It’s impossible to measure improvement if you lack data. An effective energy conservation program must include collecting data and pinpointing areas of improvement. Your campus is likely already outfitted with a working BAS system. Small operational improvements can be implemented to leverage the data present inside your existing BAS to produce smart and impactful results.

Are you ready to start creating a more energy-efficient university? Contact BuildingLogiX today to start leveraging your data.

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How BuildingLogiX Helps Increase Energy Efficiency at Universities

One of the biggest challenges facing colleges and universities is a tendency to operate in reaction to the conditions that exist in the buildings. This situation occurs for many reasons but often results in maintenance falling behind, and that repairs aren’t done until issues, sometimes major issues, are noticed. With this strategy, many building systems continue operating despite minor flaws; that means they work harder and less efficiently. Long-term exposure to small problems increases the likelihood of significant breakdowns that require expensive repair projects or complete equipment replacement.

BuildingLogiX believes in the advantages of a proactive strategy and leverages our Connected Building Services (CBS) to pinpoint minor problems, prioritize needed actions, and by collecting and analyzing data. Some of the features CBS offers include:

Fault Detection and Diagnostics

Facing shrinking teams and a growing knowledge gap, a college’s maintenance staff now has to work smarter. The Fault Detection and Diagnostics software offered by BuildingLogiX enables your equipment service workers to operate more efficiently by detecting, isolating, identifying, and evaluating issues when they occur. Our technology is ideal for HVAC systems because they feature multiple moving parts that are difficult to monitor through traditional methods.

Data Visualization

Collecting data is important, but being able to organize, analyze and read the insights produced from the data is what delivers true value. Our data visualization tool uses custom data dashboards that illustrate how your building systems are operating and lets you allow access to specific users or groups.

Strive for Chiller Plant Optimization

Chillers are often the highest consumers of electricity in a building automation system, and maximizing their efficiency is essential for creating a sustainable college campus. Our BuildingLogiX Data eXchange platform regularly monitors your chiller plants and verifies their operation consistently, and issues an alert when it detects a problem.

Strategic Energy Management

Incoming students are putting a greater emphasis on energy-efficient buildings, and CBS enables universities to track their market progress. Our strategic energy management programs let schools compare various systems and set short- and long-term goals.

Contact BuildingLogiX today to learn more about how CBS helps deliver a more energy-efficient university.

Maintaining Energy Efficiency at a University

How Much Electricity Does a University Use?

Simple Fixes That Increase Energy Efficiency at a University

Turn Off Lights

Schedule HVAC Systems

Maintain Equipment

Turn Computers Off

Proactive Solutions That Increase Energy Efficiency at a University

Retrofit Boilers

Perform a Commissioning Study

Utilize Demand-Controlled Ventilation

Leverage Existing Building Automation Systems

How BuildingLogiX Helps Increase Energy Efficiency at Universities

Fault Detection and Diagnostics

Data Visualization

Strive for Chiller Plant Optimization

Strategic Energy Management

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