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Energy retrofit leads to big savings at BSU
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A multi-year energy conservation project completed at Boise State University earlier this year has had a significant impact on both the University and the Treasure Valley as a whole.
Begun in fall 2004, the first and second phases of the project resulted in a 16 percent reduction in electrical and gas usage. The final phase, a collaboration between Boise State, Seimens Building Technologies Inc. and the Idaho Division of Public Works, has lead to annual utility cost avoidance of more than $400,000 per year. In future years, when utility rate escalation is figured in, that number could jump to $800,000 annually. That amounts to about a 20 percent reduction in utility costs across the board. At Boise State’s Canyon County site alone, that number is as high as 32 percent.
Energy system improvements have also reduced airborne emissions stemming from university boiler and steam plant operations. The result has helped the campus avoid adding 14,252 pounds of nitrogen oxide, 11,525 pounds of sulfur dioxide and almost 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the Treasure Valley air shed. Project team members worked closely with Boise City throughout the project in a collaboration aimed at expanding the city’s geothermal resources to campus.
New buildings (such as the Interactive Teaching and Learning Center) and proposed buildings (such as the new Student Union addition, the College of Business and Economics Building and the Health Sciences Building) are all being designed to incorporate geothermal energy. Further, older buildings are being refitted for geothermal energy as their heating systems are renovated.
Because geothermal energy is considered environmentally friendly and a renewable resource, it is a good fit with Boise State’s green campus initiatives.
Boise State’s 18-month, $8 million energy conservation measures covered nearly 2 million square feet of facilities and 35 buildings. Projects included:
*Retrofit of more than 21,000 lighting fixtures with efficient technology that provides more natural lighting.
*Upgrade of approximately 700 toilets, 200 urinals, 900 faucets and 68 showerheads to low-flow conservation devices.
*Automated lighting controls that turn the lights out when occupants leave the room.
*Improved heating and air-conditioning controls designed to minimize the “hot and cold” spots that plague many buildings.
*Air quality sensors in building ducts to maintain a healthy mix of fresh air in the indoor environment.
*Vending machines that light up only when users are nearby.
Annual avoided energy costs from these projects include:
*Water: 15 million gallons of domestic water or 25 percent.
*Electrical: 7.6 million kwh or 20 percent.
*Natural gas: 19,000 therms or 2 percent.
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