Alden Library                             Campus-wide Efficiency Upgrades

                     
                               Green House Project

                                     
Light Bulb Exchange Program                      Ping Center

                                                        Power Factor Correction   

                   
  Residence Challenge                            Stadium Lights

Alden Library

OHIO's Alden Library has taken a number of steps to conserve energy.The computers in Alden library are programmed to automatically shut down when the library closes.  Most computers also have energy efficient LCD monitors.

All lighting in Alden Library is fluorescent and in recent years, hundreds of light fixtures have been replaced with more energy efficient fixtures.  In the library stacks (6th and 7th floors), the rows are fitted with light switches that are turned on only when lighting is needed.  The toilets in the library have been replaced with lower volume units that use less water, and reduce the amount of energy used to treat the water.

Alden Library has a long-standing tradition of recycling. Campus Recycling says Alden is one of the top generators of recycled goods on campus.  The library has been recycling out-of-date newspapers for over 25 years, and collecting recyclables from staff desks for over 20 years.  There are recycling bins throughout the library, including paper recycling bins next to every public printer and copier.  The library also recycles discarded books from the “Friends of the Library” book sales.

To help Alden Library conserve energy, George Bain, the head of archives and special collections at the library, suggests that students should make sure to turn off the lights in the stacks and in group study rooms when they are finished.  Students should also use the recycling bins. 

Contact info:
George Bain
Phone: (740) 593-2713
bain@ohio.edu

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Campus-wide Efficiency Upgrades

In April of 2000, Ohio U began a 10-year campus renewal project through a Performance Contract with Vestar in order to increase efficiency on campus.

The project was initiated in order to conserve and reduce energy use and then use the resulting monetary savings to finance additional campus improvements. 

Since then, Ohio University has completed the following energy saving projects. 

• 145 high quality electric meters were installed to better monitor energy use. 

• Incandescent bulbs were replaced with compact fluorescents, T-12 fluorescent lights with magnetic ballasts were replaced with T-8 fluorescent lights with electronic ballasts, and incandescent exit lights were replaced with LED fixtures at Alden Library, Grosvenor Hall, Irvine Hall, Morton Hall, Parks Hall, Stocker Center, Lausche Heating Plant, Boyd Hall, James Hall, Bromley Hall, Chubb Hall, the Computer Service Center, the Ping Center, the Scott Quad, Nelson Commons, New and Old South Green (15 buildings), and Ryors Hall.

• Carbon-dioxide monitors were installed in Morton and Boyd Halls

• Variable frequency drives in air handlers were installed in Alden Library, Morton Hall, Stocker Center, Boyd Hall, and Ping Center

• Humidification controls were installed in Alden Library

• New control software installed and operations scheduling developed in Alden Library, Morton Hall, Parks hall, Stocker Center, Boyd hall, Ping Center, Scott Hall, and Sargent Hall.

• HVAC upgrades were made and humidification controls installed in Ping Center

• Heat recovery and heat exchangers were installed in the Life Science Center

• Heat economizers were installed in Lausche Heating Plant

• Steam traps were replaced in 45 locations within academic buildings and 52 locations within the residence halls

• Pump traps were replaced in 15 locations within academic buildings and 11 locations within the residence halls

• Installation of power factor correction capacitor bank—the second half of the 69 KV system had new 1,340 kVAR capacitors installed to reduce KVA billing  demand costs

• Water saving devices such as low flow toilet flush valves, low flow shower heads, sink aerators and new china were installed in Alden Library, Grosvenor Hall, Irvine Hall, Morton Hall, Parks Hall, Stocker Center, Lausche Heating Plant, Boyd Hall, James Hall, Chubb Hall, the Computer Service Center, the Ping Center, Scott Quad, Nelson Commons, South Green buildings, and Ryors Hall

•  An irrigation system was installed which included construction of a groundwater well, a holding pond and distribution piping to reduce reliance on municipal water resources and avoid paying sewer charges for irrigation water

As of February 1, 2007, Ohio University has saved over $7 million dollars and completed four phases of a five-phase plan. 

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Green House Project

Lower energy use, lower utility costs, lower temperatures. This will be the new trend set by landlords and residents who participate in the Green House Project.

Developed cooperatively by the Office of Sustainability and the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD), the Green House Project seeks to educate Athens city student tenants and landlords about the relationship between energy use, utility costs, and climate change.

“This is a way for everyone in the community to get involved in making our world a better place by changing their energy use habits,” said Molly Shea, an Ohio University environmental geography major who is the student coordinator for the project.

Participating units will benefit from a whole house energy audit from COAD, a list of recommended efficiency upgrades, as well as a cash rebate of up to $500 toward improvements landlords choose to make. Tom Calhoun, Community Development Division Assistant Director for COAD, will be overseeing audits and suggested improvements for over 40 units.

Off-campus students who participate in the project will help Ohio University meet its largest environmental challenge: the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).

In March 2007, President Roderick McDavis committed Ohio University to achieving carbon neutrality by implementing a comprehensive climate strategy. To keep its commitment, Ohio University will have to become a net zero contributor to climate change.

Short of shutting the institution down, it is impossible for a university to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero. So the plan is to reduce emissions as much as possible, and find ways to offset the remainder. Green House Project participants will reduce emissions associated with their homes, thereby offsetting some of those the university is responsible for producing.

The project also addresses goals of the Cool Cities Initiative, which the city of Athens signed on to in September of 2007. The city committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7% by 2012 and 80% by 2050. Students will benefit as well; as a result of these improvements residents could save up to $621 on utility bills annually.

“The Green House Project is a small way to start a larger chain of events. One person participating won’t make a difference, but many people will make a difference in helping to prevent climate change,” said Shea.

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Light Bulb Exchange

Several students and Office of Sustainability employees are making the rounds to academic and office buildings on campus in an effort to raise the awareness about energy conservation. Project volunteers visit the offices in various buildings across campus and talk to faculty, staff, and administrators about ways they can conserve energy by shutting down their computers at night, and turning off their screen savers.

In addition to receiving energy saving computer tips, faculty and staff are given a free highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulb in exchange for an incandescent bulb in their office. These compact fluorescent bulbs use about a quarter of the energy that an incandescent bulb uses. For example, the compact fluorescent bulb that is used to replace a 60 W incandescent bulb uses only 14W of electricity!

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Ping Center

Since 2002, the Ping Center has been purchasing more self-powered cardio machines.  These machines run off a built-in alternator, much like the alternator in your car.  The screens are blank until a user gets on and begins the specific exercise; then the screen lights up to perform a program, track time and calories. 

They now have about 25-30 self-powered bikes, ellipticals, x-trainers, and stair steppers in the fitness facility.  Working out on one of these machines consumes zero energy—only caloric energy from your body.  The self powered machines give Ping Center director, Hafedh Benhadj, much more flexibility in his gym floor plan because they are cordless and he doesn’t have to worry about placing them near an electrical outlet or drawing too much energy and shorting the circuit. 

“When we have a choice,” he says, “we always choose self-powered machines now.”  He anticipates and hopes that some company will be coming out with a self-powered treadmill soon.

Contact info:
Hafedh Benhadj
phone: (740) 593-9911
benhadj@ohio.edu

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Power Factor Correction

A team of Russ College undergraduate engineering students, advised by Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Brian Manhire, worked with Dave Mace in Ohio U Facilities Management on a capstone senior design course project, the Power Factor Correction. For this project the team analyzed how Ohio University uses power and ways that it could conserve energy to reduce electricity costs.

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Residence Challenge

The Residence Challenge is an efficiency competition between Ohio University’s residence halls. The halls on each green that save the most water and electricity during an 8-week period winter quarter win a free trip to Cedar Point. 

In Winter 2008, residents saved 271,668 KWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity over the course of the competition. Producing that amount of electricity generates approximately 300 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents when using predominantly coal-fired power plants (as we do). Saving 300 tons of carbon dioxide could also be accomplished by taking 17,589 cars off the road for a day. Electric bill savings of the challenge exceeded 12,000 dollars.

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Stadium Lights

Our office has had many inquiries about the energy use of the stadium lights. So here's the scoop as provided by Ron Chapman, Ohio University's director of energy management.

Peden Stadium field lighting contains 256 total fixtures using 1,500 watt lamps for a total of 384,000 watts or 384 KW (kilowatts).  As an industrial user, the electric rate for Ohio University is $0.0248 per kilowatt-hour, about 30% of your household rate!   This results in a base cost of  $9.52 per hour of lighting if all fixtures are on.  

In addition, if the lights were actually lit during the peak demand periods, there would also be a surcharge of $4.701 per KW demand that exceeds already established limits.  This is not likely to occur as the 384 KW represents only a small percentage of the maximum draw that Ohio U. uses.  To avoid this penalty, the burn times must be carefully monitored so that we stay within established demand limits for which the university already pays.

Even so, the cost to operate these lights must share in the “demand cost” for all electric use across the campus.  Adding this “demand cost” to the cost per KwH raises the average cost per KwH to $0.0477 per kilowatt-hour. 

The final answer to the question raised is:  1 hour of lighting in the stadium, day or night is (384,000 watts-hr/1000 watts/KW) x ($0.0477/ KW-hr) x (1 hr) = $18.32 per hour.

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