Ambitious Plan at Stanford
tanford’s suite of energy-saving programs includes
new construction, large-scale building retrofi ts, small-scale ret-
rofi ts; heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) con-
trols; and user habits. In addition, the university is demonstrat-
ing solar technologies at several campus locations.
quire 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
Th e university has allocated $15 million to improve the most
to keep conditioning the air for the com-
energy-intensive buildings on campus. Th e Stauff er Chemistry
fort of researchers. 
Building was fi nished fi rst in June 2007 and yielded a 35 percent
Th ere are logical reasons why labs are
drop in electricity use, a 43 percent cut in steam use and a 62 percent reduction
the way they are. Some are forgivable.
in chilled water use. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with the building were
Some are not.
reduced by 762 metric tons per year.
You cannot risk causing illness from
Retrofi ts on the twelve most energy-intensive buildings on campus are
breathing noxious fumes or biological
scheduled for completion by 2013. Altogether, the improvements are expect-
contaminants. To protect researchers, the
ed to save $4.2 million annually and reduce total energy use in these buildings
air volume is oft en replaced 5-10 times per
by 28 percent.
day. Typically, the lowest standard man-
An Energy Retrofi t Program (ERP) has invested more than $10 million over
dated for chemistry labs is six air changes
15 years in improving energy effi ciency through technology upgrades, such as
per hour. Th is means that the entire air in
T8 lamps and electronic ballasts, variable-speed drives for motors, LED exit
the lab must be exhausted and replaced
signs and spectrally selective window fi lm. Th e result is an estimated cumulative
every 10 minutes. Students, faculty, staff ,
savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity—about 15 months of
researchers and lab assistants want access
the university’s current use—and prevention of 72,000 metric tons of carbon
to lab buildings 24/7. Th at access pattern
dioxide equivalent emissions.
can triple the heating or cooling and light-
ing loads.
In labs, utilizing sensors to shut off
lights and regulate temperature when
rooms are unoccupied pays immediate
next steps can be as simple as limiting use tained, and even when they meet comfort dividends. And for those fume hoods,
of certain space or turning off the lights requirements. Most schools commission protocols can be put in place to require
and lowering the thermostat when not one building at a time. Th e University of the sash (the door of the hood) to be
occupied. Automated controls can mange Wisconsin launched an ambitious campus- completely closed when not in use. A new
those functions quite well. Humans tend wide re-commissioning program involving generation of high effi ciency fume hoods
to be inconsistent; computers don’t. 100+ buildings. is emerging. Separating offi ce space from
Further steps become more complex. Replace or rebuild. Some HVAC sys- active lab spaces can reduce the need for
Th e tradeoff of energy savings and pleas- tems are so outdated they can’t be brought frequent air changes in a signifi cant por-
ant environments is not a zero-sum game. up to modern effi ciency standards. In oth- tion of lab buildings.
Yet balancing occupant comfort and en- er cases, entire buildings are beyond hope, Th e Environmental Protection Agen-
ergy savings requires compromise. and the best solution is to gut or demolish cy and Department of Energy have cre-
the structure and build anew. In the pro- ated Laboratories for the 21st Century.
The three Rs of cess, many colleges bump up against an ac- “Labs21” off ers an information exchange
greening existing buildings counting fi rewall between operating and and education through partnership, train-
Routine maintenance and repair pays off . capital budgets, preventing operational ing, and a tool kit. Th ree dozen campus-
Filters should be replaced regularly. En- savings from being a source of funds for es—including Georgetown, Wright State,
ergy recovery ventilation systems (ERVs) capital improvements. UNC and several of the California system
should be cleaned periodically. Damp- universities—are partners.
ers, valves, louvers and sensors should be In lab buildings,
inspected and calibrated. A building au- green plans go up in smoke Green is not a common team color
tomation system (BAS) can assure timely On a per-square-foot basis, lab buildings Nearly three out of four universities in
maintenance. are the fattest energy hogs. Harvard re- NCAA Football Subdivision (FBS, for-
Retro-commissioning optimizes an ex- cently estimated the energy expense of merly known as Division 1A) report that
isting building’s performance to meet the operating its 1,000+ fume hoods at more institutional sustainability initiatives are a
original design intent or current opera- than $3.6 million annually. According to “very high” or “high” priority. Th eir ath-
tional needs. Michael Crowley of Environ- John Buie of labX, a lab equipment mar- letic departments, on the other hand, are
mental Health and Engineering in Need- ketplace, there are approximately 75,000 lagging behind. Th ey also lag behind ma-
ham, MA calls it a “tune-up” of the heating, fume hoods in operation in the U.S., each jor professional sports organizations. So
ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems. of which consumes as much electricity as says a 2009 Collegiate Athletic Depart-
Th ose systems and their components oft en 3.5 U.S. households. Additionally, labs ment Sustainability Survey authored by
operate ineffi ciently, even when well-main- displace such large volumes of air, they re- Mark McSherry.
42 T
oday’s
C
ampus subscribe at no charge at www.todayscampus.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68