Kilowatt hours per gross square foot, a measurement of the amount of energy needed per square foot of building space, have decreased steadily since 2005. This has a large impact on the facilities management budget.

One of the largest returns on investment is a steam absorption chiller.

“We’re using steam to make chilled water that we use for air conditioning on campus,” said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management. “When we run the steam absorption chiller, we don’t have to operate an electric chiller.”

Thirty-one percent of the 2010 Central Energy Budget — almost $5 million — is spent on electricity. Thermal energy — natural gas and wood — make up slightly less than $3 million of the budget.

Lawrence said CMU is the only school in the state to use wood as a heating mechanism. Approximately 70 percent of heating on campus comes from wood.

“One of the positives on that is that the money spent on fuel stays in the community,” Lawrence said.

Energy efficiency

Energy conservation projects are funded through a variety of means.

Some are paid for through deferred maintenance fees. Others come from the energy conservation portion of the facilities management budget.

“I have some energy conservation money available in our energy budget,” Lawrence said. “If we have surplus funds in (the budget), we’re going to shift some over to energy conservation.”

There is $100,000 allocated for energy conservation this year.

Another source of money for improvements is the Consumers Energy Company Rebate. This is money given to consumers who take steps to implement energy-saving technologies.

The six-year program makes all Consumer’s Energy customers pay an extra fee which funds energy efficiency rebates. As customers use more green technologies, they are eligible for increased savings.

Energy efficiency programs were required in 2008 energy legislation within Michigan, Consumers spokeswoman Mary Gust said.

“We believe that the charge that will be on their bill will be negated by taking advantage of the energy efficiency programs,” she said.

CMU has applied for rebates because of motion sensors installed in Grawn, Pearce and Anspach halls.

Carbon dioxide sensors

Lawrence would like to see work done on carbon dioxide sensors in air handling units across campus.

“We want to put in these sensors so that we can monitor the level so that when we’re with in range we can close the outside dampers and decrease energy costs,” he said.

Carbon dioxide must be kept within a certain range when rooms are occupied; the only way to change the level is by bringing in outside air. By monitoring the carbon dioxide, the rooms can be kept at a more consistent level and less outside air will need to be heated or cooled.

These projects are expected to have a large return on investment, paying for themselves each year.

It is hard to tell how much of an impact each project is having, since many of the buildings do not have meters. It would cost about $2 million for CMU to add meters to every building, Lawrence said.

“We looked at installing meters in all our buildings on campus that don’t have them,” he said. “As we build new buildings, we add meters.”

In addition to the meters, new buildings also use more energy efficient lighting, something all buildings will eventually have. Grawn Hall has LED lighting to replace its older incandescent fixtures.

All of this is part of Lawrence’s plan to stagnate energy costs at the 2009 level. Once funding is secured, he said he will move forward with plans for the future.