Go Green
Energy and Climate
The greenest resource is the one you don’t use. Whether it’s water, paper, heating and air conditioning, or electricity, we all have a responsibility to use less and be wiser consumers of natural resources. As an institution of higher education, we believe that Towson has an even deeper responsibility to serve as a good steward of our natural resources. To that end, we are implementing a number of planning measures and reduction initiatives to reduce our carbon impact from an institutional perspective, as well as launching a variety of awareness campaigns and programs to engage and involve the campus from a community perspective. We believe that by bringing both of these elements together, we can achieve our climate goals and make a measurable and lasting impact on the world around us.
Climate Commitment & Climate Action Plan
As a signatory of the President’s Climate Commitment, TU has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The path toward this goal is a long one, and our climate action plan lays out our long-term strategy for achieving it. The strategy involves conducting annual inventories of campus greenhouse gas emissions which provide the data for comparisons and trending of campus energy usage. That trending data is then used to identify energy reduction projects and develop best practices that help to reduce overall consumption. Such initiatives include the development of standard occupancy hours to guide the use of electricity in campus buildings, standard practices for turning down heating and air conditioning (HVAC) units in residence halls during the summer and winter breaks, as well as the installation of energy efficient LED lighting in campus buildings. Specific reduction projects are highlighted below.
ESCO Project
The university is currently undergoing an $8 million Energy Services Coordinator (ESCO) project to identify and implement energy-reducing renovations and practices across campus. The project will entail the placement of 14,000 new lighting fixtures, 20,000 retrofit fixtures and 9,300 occupancy sensors in 40 of the university's 46 buildings. The project, which is expected to be completed in spring 2012, will reduce the campus's energy costs by approximately $1 million a year.
Energy Practices
The Office of Energy Engineering and Conservation works closely with the Office of Sustainability to identify and complete projects that reduce campus energy consumption. The following list contains information about TU's energy practices, as well several recently-completed energy reduction projects.
-
In February 2011, the university signed an $8 million Energy Services Coordinator (ESCO) contract to identify and implement energy-reducing renovations and practices across campus. The project will entail the placement of 14,000 new lighting fixtures, 20,000 retrofit fixtures and 9,300 occupancy sensors in 40 of the university's 46 buildings. The project is expected to reduce the campus's energy costs by approximately $1 million a year.
-
In late 2010, the lighting fixtures on the east canopy of the Enrollment Services building were replaced with high-efficiency LED fixtures. The new lighting consumes 70% less energy than the previous fixtures.
-
Electric SmartMetering systems located in most campus buildings enable accurate, real time monitoring of electrical usage and demand. This monitoring will serve as a basis for the development of future energy conservation initiatives.
-
The campus fleet contains five electric vehicles which help to reduce the carbon footprint associated with university transportation.
-
The university has committed to design, build and operate all future buildings and additions according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standard. This standard requires buildings to be constructed with high performance, energy efficient systems and environmentally-friendly materials. The College of Liberal Arts building and the future West Village Commons and West Village Housing buildings will be designed and constructed to this standard.
-
The Campus Utility Plant Addition has centralized the production and distribution of heating, cooling and electricity on campus. The efficiencies gained from buildings being connected to the plant are expected to reduce the university’s cooling power consumption significantly.
-
Boilers at the campus power plant receive annual tune-ups to continually increase their efficiency. This allows the boilers to operate at an 80 - 85% mark, well above the industry norm of 70 – 75%.
-
Occupancy sensors in many campus buildings allow lights to automatically turn off when rooms are not in use.
-
The high-performance HVAC system in our Administration Building makes ice at night, when electricity demand and rates are lower, and then uses it to provide air conditioning during the day, saving money and lowering stress on system during peak demand hours.
Office of Sustainability
General Services Building, Room 132A (map)
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 410-704-3409
Fax: 410-704-6248
Email: gogreen@towson.edu
|
