Utility Conservation in Academic Buildings I U O f f ic e o f S u s t a in a b ilit y S u m m e r 2 0 1 0 Alexandra Rekkas, Intern
Table of Contents Building Manager Outreach...3 Methods and Results...3 Recommendations...4 Energy Conservation...5 Methods and Results...5 Recommendations...6 Water Conservation...7 Methods and Results...7 Recommendations...8 Fall 2010 Energy Challenge...9 Appendix...11 Many thanks to my mentor, Lee Walters, and Glenn Moulton for their guidance and direction. 1
Introduction The main focus of the Utilities Conservation Internship is to reduce unnecessary electricity and water usage in Indiana University academic buildings. These buildings are not charged for their individual electricity and water usage. As a result, they have little incentive to decrease overall usage and often do not have knowledge of how much they are consuming. This internship seeks to promote the efficient and sustainable use of electricity and water in academic buildings by (1) raising awareness of utilities consumption levels among students, faculty, and staff, (2) encouraging students, faculty, and staff to reduce utilities usage through outreach incentives, and (3) tracking historical utilities usage in academic buildings and analyzing trends. Raising awareness of utilities consumption was primarily achieved through building manager outreach. This initiative consists of establishing communication channels with managers and distributing conservation prompts and monthly water consumption reports. Another focus of this internship is the promotion of positive behavior changes among faculty, students, and staff by advocating individual conservation efforts, such as turning off lights when not in use and reporting water leaks. Finally, historical utilities usage data was gathered and extracted from Utility Plant electricity and water readings. Consumption data was used to calculate baselines for participating academic buildings in the Fall Energy Challenge and to include in the monthly water consumption reports emailed to building managers. Tracking historical data also provided the opportunity to identify any anomalies in the utilities usage of individual buildings. Outlying data is often essential in the identification of possible equipment failure. 2
Building Manager Outreach Methods and Results As part of the Utilities Conservation Project, building managers are given a monthly water conservation report detailing their utilities usage for that month as compared to 2009 levels. (See Table 1 in the appendix for a contact list of building managers). These reports are intended to provide a clear and concise snapshot of monthly water usage for the buildings of interest. The email accompanying the report requests that the building manager forward the content to staff members and other interested individuals in order to generate as much interest and knowledge in campus utilities consumption as possible. Each report begins with an introduction to the Utilities Conservation Project, which is an initiative administered by IUOS and the Utilities Information Group with the purpose of measuring and reducing unnecessary water use on campus. The reports also list the bi-weekly water meter readings for that month, including the date the reading was taken, gallons consumed per day, and gallons consumed per square foot per day (see Table 1). Table 1. Example water meter readings table for SPEA (June 2010) The report also displays in graphical form the total amount of water consumed in that building during that particular month as compared to the total amount of water consumed during that month in 2009. Figure 1 displays an example of one of these tables from the June 2010 SPEA water report. 3
The reports concluded with water-saving tips and contact information where one may direct further questions or report leaks. Water Conservation Reports were sent to the following buildings: Kelley, SPEA, Geology, Psychology, Chemistry, Swain, Simon, Myers, Jordan, Optometry, and Wells Library. These buildings are part of the water conservation route and their meters are read bi-weekly. Recommendations In the future, conservation reports may be expanded to also include electricity consumption. There was hesitation to include electric data in the reports this summer due to the concern of overwhelming managers. Based on the positive response and engagement from managers, electric data would likely be welcome and would provide additional data informing building occupants of total utilities consumption. Furthermore, with the permission of building managers, data from the reports should be displayed in a common area in each building, perhaps on a bulletin board. Displaying data in a public place through which many students and faculty pass, would increase the chances of the information reaching a wider audience. It is essential to 4
reach students and faculty in order to decrease total consumption. Another possibility is for the electric and water data to extend even further into the past. It may beneficial and of interest to managers to show data for as many years as possible. Energy Conservation Methods and Results The central method used to encourage students, faculty, and staff to engage in activities that minimize unneeded energy use were prompts that were placed on light switch plates and fume hoods in academic buildings on campus. (See Appendix for images of stickers and magnets). The light switch stickers act as a reminder to turn off lights and the fume hood magnets encourage individuals to close sashes when not in use. These targets were chosen as simple and important ways that any individual can contribute to energy conservation. For example, a typical fume hood that runs for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year uses 3.5 times more energy than the average home. Therefore, there is an enormous potential energy savings associated with such a simple action. This summer, light switch stickers were added to the following buildings: Ballantine, Chemistry, DeVault, Fine Arts, Jordan, Lindley, Optometry, Psychology, Rawles, Service, Simon, Student, Woodburn, and Wylie. Fume hood magnets were added to Chemistry, Jordan, MSB II, and Simon. Before any stickers or magnets were posted in a building, an introduction meeting was conducted with the building managers. The meetings were intended to facilitate open communication among managers and IUOS, as well as obtain permission to post prompts throughout the building and to ascertain if there were any areas that were particularly off-limits to the intern. 5
Recommendations One of the strengths of the conservation prompt initiative is that new stickers and magnets are created periodically. These prompts are used to not only replace old stickers that are no longer functional, but they also provide a new visual cue that acts as an eye-catcher for people who pass through target areas daily. One recommendation is to continue to redesign prompts periodically in order to prevent people from becoming acclimated the same signs. Another recommendation is to monitor the effectiveness of the shut the sash campaign and provide follow-up to lab workers to encourage continuous improvement. Follow-up may take the form of reminder notes on fume hoods that were left open overnight. After speaking with contacts in the Chemistry Building, it appears that certain professors already email students in their labs when fume hoods were left open. An organized monitoring partnership between IUOS and lab managers or professors would greatly benefit both parties. Walking through campus laboratories, it is evident that many fume hoods remain open constantly, for no practical reason. Because fume hoods are a great source of wasted energy, focus on this area should be expanded. Finally, behavior changes with regard to energy conservation can only reduce wasteful consumption by a certain amount. Energy efficient buildings, equipment, and appliances are essential for the full potential of campus energy use reduction to be realized. Increasing the focus on energy efficient retrofits, such as lighting and insulation, may help buildings achieve the energy savings that they are fully capable of. Retrofitting opportunities for IU s campus may be financed through grants, rebates, and loan programs offered within the state to public institutions. Further research is needed to compile a list of possible financial incentive opportunities. 6
Water Conservation Methods and Results Water conservation stickers were placed by restroom sinks and on drinking fountains in academic buildings. The stickers list the Utility Plant s leak line phone number where people can report leaks and have them quickly fixed. Water conservation stickers were added to the following buildings: Ballantine, Chemistry, DeVault, Fine Arts, Lindley, Optometry, Psychology, Rawles, Service, Student, Woodburn, and Wylie. From May 1 st to August 3 rd, 27 leaks were reported in various academic buildings via the hotline. The total estimated savings for these three months is $1,730. The following assumptions were used to arrive at this estimate: (1) Indiana University is charged $6 per 1,000 gallons of water by the City of Bloomington, (2) a leaking faucet has an average stream of 30 drips per minute, (3) a running toilet will use 4,000 gallons of water per day, (4) an unreported leak will run for 10 days before it is fixed, and (5) a leak reported to the hotline will run for 24 hours before it is fixed. Value of wasted water if leak was not reported: 19 sinks * 10 days sink * $6 1,000 gal = $2.28 8 toilets * 4,000 gal 10 days * day toilet $6 * 1,000gal = $1,920 $2.28 + $1,920 = $1,922.28 7
Value of wasted water for reported leaks: 19 sinks * 1 day sink * $6 1,000 gal = $0.11 8 toilets * 4,000 gal * 1 day day toilet * $6 1,000gal = $192 $0.11 + $192 = $192.11 Total value of water savings: $1,922.28 - $192.11 = $1,730.17 Although these results may not appear to be significant, it is important to remember that the data spans a short, three-month period. As this initiative grows, the projected savings will also continue to increase. Recommendations One recommendation is to improve upon the leak line initiative program evaluation. One way to achieve this goal is to require that callers leave more detailed information about the leaks they are reporting. An automated answering system may prompt the caller with a series of questions, including the type of leak occurring, where it is located, and an estimated rate of the stream. Answers to these questions may provide the Utility Plant and IUOS with an improved estimate of the water and financial savings that IU achieved. Also, as with energy conservation, water conservation initiatives on campus would benefit from an increased focus on retrofitting academic buildings with more efficient equipment, such as low-flow plumbing fixtures. To offset the initial cost of installation, financial incentives should be sought out. Finally, an additional prompt was created for 8
dishwashers in office lounges to encourage faculty and staff to conserve water by only running full loads (see Figure 3 in Appendix). Fall 2010 Energy Challenge This year, IU s Fall Energy Challenge welcomes seven new academic building participants: Ballantine, Optometry, Psychology, Rawles, Student Building, Swain, and Woodburn Hall. Electricity and water usage baselines were calculated for each of the participating buildings by taking the average utility usage for October from 2007-2009 (see Table 3 in Appendix for a complete list of all baselines). The buildings chosen to participate are some of the largest utility consumers on campus. The following graphs display the new academic building participant s total electricity and water usage per day. 9
These graphs show the immense energy and water usage that these new additions use in only one month. Including such large consumers in the Energy Challenge may result in a significant decrease in consumption across the campus. Also, because there is a large number of students, faculty, and staff that use these important campus buildings, their inclusion will aid in the mobilization of a significant number of people in advancing conservation on campus. 10
Appendix Table 2. Building managers contact list 11
Figure 2. Energy and water conservation sticker and magnet prompts 12
Figure 3. Proposed dishwasher sign Table 3. Baselines for all academic building participants in the Fall 2010 Energy Challenge 13