Additional UI budget cuts galvanize campus energy conservation plans

President Skorton’s recent announcement indicated that another $500,000 would be removed from the General Education Fund (GEF) budget for utilities expenses, bringing the total reduction to date to $750,000.

fyi talked with Don Guckert, associate vice president and director, Facilities Management, about how Facilities Management is responding to the budget cut.

What is the plan for reducing the University’s energy expense?

Even prior to the GEF announcement, Facilities Management had been developing a campus energy policy designed to lower energy consumption. The GEF cuts have galvanized our efforts to involve all University faculty members, staff, and students.

This energy conservation program will succeed only if it is a campus-wide effort, not just a Facilities Management program. Everyone can help the University realize energy savings.

In addition, we are auditing our buildings to assess opportunities for altering our facilities and using current building control technologies to optimize energy efficiency. We’re confident the University can achieve the targeted savings of $1.5 million over a three year period, and even more in the years following.

What is different about this energy conservation initiative compared with others the University has undertaken in the past?

We hope to go well beyond a “program or initiative” and embed energy-saving best practices into our long-term operational and institutional culture. To help reach this goal, we established the Campus Energy Conservation Advisory Council. This is a representative committee of faculty members, staff, and students who will help plan, develop, and review the progress of our energy conservation initiatives.

We’ve also enlisted help from key partners on campus. Information Technology Services has been extremely helpful in helping us understand the potential savings available in using computers more efficiently. UI Purchasing has developed a web site to inform us about Energy Star products and other products built to conserve energy. Partnerships like these help us magnify our efforts.

The University has been curtailing electricity in the summer. How does this program differ from curtailment?

Curtailments help us save money on purchased electricity by agreeing to shave demand during peak periods. Curtailments can result in uncomfortable conditions because they often mean cutting air conditioning or lighting during peak work periods.

Our conservation efforts, on the other hand, are designed to save money on a continuous basis without adversely impacting the important daily work of the University.

Faculty members, staff, and students have been supportive of the curtailment program. Are they also supporting the energy conservation program?

We have had a lot of support, encouragement, and enthusiasm from faculty members, staff, and students. After we sent a reminder to the University community around the holiday break about powering down office equipment, we received replies from people who thanked us and offered additional energy-saving ideas. This is the broad-based support and participation we are seeking.

Many people have noticed long green posters near light switches on campus. How did those posters come about?

Early on, we engaged MidAmerican Energy as a key partner in our conservation efforts. Given their experience, we sought their advice on an energy awareness campaign. Lighting is about one-eighth of our electric bill. They supplied the large light-switch poster to draw attention to energy-saving opportunities. These posters are intended for display in public areas, classrooms, conference rooms, restrooms, and corridors. MidAmerican engaged their ad agency for the design, and produced and supplied the posters at no cost to the University.

Our student volunteers provided the legwork to get these placed in campus buildings. Following this effort, the students decided they wanted to have a poster campaign of their own, and just a week or so ago I saw a preview of their second poster for Cambus. It’s great to have the creativity and enthusiasm of students on our side.

What else can individuals on campus do?

There are many simple things that add up. Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms, reduce lighting levels, or use limited task lighting. Turn off your computers and any other office equipment when you are not using them, especially overnight and on weekends. Set energy-saving features on all your office equipment. Consider energy consumption when making new equipment purchases. Notify the Work Control Center [at (33)5-5071] of any building malfunctions. It all adds up.

Certainly by reducing the demand for energy by turning off lights and equipment, we can reduce costs. But what about making the University’s buildings more efficient users of energy?

Building improvements offer the potential for increased energy efficiency and reduced maintenance cost.

We are finding many potential energy-saving improvements that will pay for themselves in less than one year, including reswitching lights, employing new building control technology in older buildings, and improving the efficiency of heating and air conditioning systems.

Operational improvements, which require very little investment, involve working with occupants to establish schedules for heating and air conditioning systems such that the equipment is turned off and temperature settings are set back when the building is unoccupied.

We’ve been talking about trying to manage energy demand, but is the University trying to manage the supply? We’ve read about the oat hulls. Isn’t that saving a lot of money?

The University has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in coal cost by burning oat hulls purchased from Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, in place of about 30,000 tons of coal. Not only does this save money but it also allows the University to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use a renewable waste product as an energy source. We are proud of our pioneering efforts on this initiative, and we were recognized with two Iowa Governor Awards for our accomplishments.

What should we expect in the future?

Many of our initiatives in this energy conservation program are going to be invisible to most building occupants.

But we want everyone to know that we are aggressive in our pursuit of savings and that we need support and patience as we explore and implement changes.

We also need to continue increasing campus awareness and developing a culture of conservation; this is where everyone can contribute. Our path is long in this effort, but our opportunities are great. The key will be working together and remembering that all of the small efforts add up.

by Gary Kuhlmann