Lexington, KY - The University of Kentucky has unveiled a $25 million project to make 61 campus buildings more energy and resource efficient. Changes in lighting, mechanical and water systems will generate an estimated savings of $2,430,000 annually. That savings includes over 37 million gallons of water and nearly 14 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
UK President Lee Todd also pointed out that the campus will reduce its carbon footprint by eliminating over 23 thousand tons of CO2 emissions - equal, according to UK, to 62,257 trees planted or 45,755 cars removed from roads and annual energy savings equal to the energy consumption of 5,251 average homes.
"We're spending $143,000 each day (on energy and water)," said Bob Wiseman, VP of Facilities at UK, "Shave that by five or six percent - that's tremendous savings."
Business Lexington
Wiseman told that the 61 targeted buildings are maintained by UK's general fund. They're older buildings with higher energy consuming operations that will benefit much from retrofitting with new efficient systems.
The project began in summer of 2008 with in-house engineers and architects doing preliminary studies, Wiseman said. UK developed a list of 11 firms as candidates to handle the project, and settled on Ameresco, a Massachusetts-based company dedicated to energy efficiency and renewables.
The project budget has dedicated $6 million for lighting, $15.8 million for mechanical systems (air handlers and research fume hoods), $1.4 million on water retrofits and conservation (lots of low-flow fixtures), and $1.8 million as a contingency fund to cover any unforeseen challenges.
Wiseman said that UK Athletics is currently in talks with Ameresco regarding retrofitting athletic facilities. UK Healthcare is studying options for medical buildings. Dormitories, funded by student fees, would also be a separate project, he said.
"We looked at LED lighting," said John Zachem, manager of utilities, "but it's not advanced enough yet." CFL bulbs will replace incandescent bulbs, T-8 florescent tubes will replace older T-12 ones, cutting wattage in half, and magnetic ballasts (fixtures) will be replaced with more efficient electric ones.
Zachem says that over 40,000 tons of water run through the chilled water system that serves the buildings across the campus. That system will be made more efficient with sensors that will optimize heat transfer to the water before it leaves buildings. "We're also changing fan systems to a variable frequency drive, allowing fan motors to run at variable speeds," said Zachem.
Energy efficiency projects for buildings often involve lots of insulation work. "The only insulation we're doing is on piping," said Brian Duvall, Ameresco's head engineer of the project. "That's due to the construction in the buildings." He explained to Business Lexington that the brick and concrete buildings have no places to blow in insulation.
From December of 2009 until April of 2010, Duvall oversaw about 50 efficiency team members divided into groups focused on lighting, water and mechanical systems. They investigated 5.2 million square feet of space in the 61 buildings, looking for opportunities to retrofit for greater efficiencies. The project data was fed into eQuest, a sophisticated software, certified by the Department of Energy, that shows projected energy-use based on system designs and choices. The eQuest findings are the basis for financial savings projections.
Ameresco guarantees a level of units of energy that will be saved after their work is complete. They attached a fixed rate for those units of energy reflecting market conditions when the contract was signed with UK
in summer, 2010. Duvall said that Ameresco will write a check to UK for any shortfall in energy savings. That ensures that U.K. will be in a position to pay off the municipal bonds debt in 14 years, said Duvall, because the money to service the bonds will be supplied by the savings, which are backed by the guarantee.
UK raised $25 million with bonds sold to finance the project. Those bonds, said Duvall, will be serviced at a rate of $2.2 million annually and mature in about 14 years. The retrofit, he said, is expected to generate $2.4 million in annual savings. "We looked at what had the best return on investment with the $25 million," he said. They looked for retrofits that would work with the budget and average out to about a 14 year payback to service the bonds. "There are a lot of single paned windows at UK," said Duvall, "but windows and roofs typically have a 50 to 100 year payback." So there will still be fruit higher up in the tree for ongoing energy efficiency projects at the university.
Work on the project is now underway. Crews have begun switching out light fixtures and bulbs. "We're trying to use as many local contractors as we can," said Duvall. Much of the work will be done at night to keep from disrupting classes and research. Duvall expects lighting to be done by summer and the rest of the work completed by next November.
Lee Todd also announced that the university would shut down for three extra days this holiday season to save funds. "In this difficult financial climate we're working hard to find ways to make savings," he said. He called for "conservation of resources, whether financial or environmental," indicating the two different climates being addressed.
For an overview of the project go to: http://energysavings.facilities.uky.edu