Conservation is key in plans to save energy
Utah State University is on the road to being more efficient, according to a letter published by the Facilities department which ran on its Web site throughout the summer.
Projects are online and planned for the future in order to allow for greater energy conservation at the university.
Included in these projects is the current construction of a heating plant and utility and steam tunnels on campus, said Darrell Hart, assistant vice president for Facilities.
“The project we’re going through now gives opportunity for the future,” Hart said.
According to the department’s letter, one of the planned projects is a central chilled-water system for air conditioning which will be housed in the new heating plant building.
“Right now, each building is individually cooled,” Hart said.
The letter states “the efficiency of such units is approximately 50 percent less than the production of similar cooling amounts produced in a central cooling plant.”
When sufficient funding becomes available, USU will be able to link cooling loads via the utility ducts currently under construction.
Another project evident by work being done on Old Main Hill is an irrigation control system. It was started in 1999 and will link the irrigation system to a central computer.
Previously, each sprinkler system had its own manually set timer. In the event of rain, a Facilities employee had to go out to each irrigation control box and reset each sprinkler system to avoid irrigating during a storm.
This project is now nearing completion, and will allow Facilities to turn sprinklers on or off at the touch of a button or click of a mouse. The system can also detect a decrease in pressure due to a broken pipe or sprinkler head and automatically shuts down that arm of the system.
Projects initiated over the last 10 years include: The replacement of about 85 percent of fluorescent lighting with electronic ballast and T-8 tubes which provide better light, require less energy and last longer; renovating building mechanical systems; incorporating new materials that improve energy conservation and replacing normal equipment such as motors and chillers with high-efficiency units.
There is only so much Facilities can do. Hart said Facilities can turn lights on or off in various buildings around campus to save energy.
“We decide which time is best to turn on heavy equipment, all the things you don’t see,” Hart said.
Boilers, motors and fans all use a large amount of power during startup, which is monitored by Facilities.
By following a sequence for starting heavy equipment, peaks in electrical demand can be avoided which costs the university less in power bills. Facilities wants students and staff to be more conscious of the importance of energy conservation.
“We’re trying to get the awareness level up,” Hart said. “We are trying to get people to change their habits. We can only influence others by our example.”