Facilities Operations
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Strategic Energy Plan
September 2003
Updated July 2009
Contents
II. Accomplishments and Goals
- Energy Data Management
- Energy Supply Management
- Energy Use in Facilities
- Equipment Efficiency
- Organizational Integration
- Water Management
V. Mandate for Energy Management
Scorecard Results
An assessment of our current energy management efforts was performed. Current performance falls into the Advanced category on the SEP-Performance Scorecard. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has initiated action in several of the (five) key strategic focus areas. In particular, the assessment revealed the following strengths in current efforts and initiatives.
• Energy Data Management – The University has established a procedure for collecting monthly energy billing information, utilizing excel spreadsheets for totaling data. This effort has produced a comprehensive database of facility usage and cost information. Efforts are underway to analyze all facilities usage for monitoring excessive variations, identifying and recovering billing errors, and targeting facilities for follow-up evaluation.
• Energy Supply Management – Most of our facilities are supplied electricity from Duke Energy through our main campus substation by an underground distribution system to each building. Our campus substation is on the time-of-use electrical rate schedule. Natural gas is the primary energy source for our boiler plant with fuel oil as a secondary backup source. Natural gas is currently purchased through a broker.
• Energy Use in Facilities – Most facilities have a Direct Digital Control (DDC) system for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC). Temperature ranges have been established. Some energy reduction opportunities have been identified.
• Equipment Efficiency – A maintenance program is in place to keep equipment and systems repaired and operating reliably. HVAC system maintenance includes filter changes, coil cleaning, and regular inspections. HVAC systems are being upgraded in conjunction with other renovation projects to improve energy efficiency.
• Organization Integration – Funding for renovation projects must be approved by the state. The university has recently executed a performance contract as an alternative to funding facility utility upgrades.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has established the fiscal year 2002-2003 as the energy baseline program year. The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) used to track energy usage is listed under Section IV (goals & measure).
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s energy usage for the fiscal year 2008-2009 was approximately 57% natural gas, 42% electricity, and less than 1% No. 2 fuel oil. This energy usage is broken down into the following categories:
WATER
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro receives water and sewer service from the City of Greensboro. The Campus owns a water distribution system that receives water through three master meters and distributes it to about 55 buildings. Most, but not all, of those buildings have sub-meters that the campus reads and manually enters into a database. Where water is used for irrigation or cooling there have been additional sub-meters installed so that the University can receive non-sewer credits for water that does not go into the sanitary sewer system. In fiscal year 2008-2009, the university water accounts totaled approximately $1,045,000 for 171 million gallons of water. The non-sewer water credits were approximately 532,600 gallons of water.
NATURAL GAS
Piedmont Natural Gas (PNG) provides gas service through 36 meters to the campus. Natural gas is used as fuel for furnaces, boilers, cooking, and some generators. All the accounts, except for the steam plant, are small enough that the gas and delivery service are provided under PNG’s small general service rate or residential rate schedules. In fiscal year 2008-2009, the university’s total gas bill was $2.7 million for 333 million cubic feet, or 333 billion BTU’s of gas. The steam plant used over 90% of that gas.
The steam plant’s natural gas is bought through a marketer who buys gas on the wholesale market, and negotiates interstate and local transportation costs. The marketer and the Energy Engineer agree on prices to pay for the purchase of the future gas and triggers are set to buy gas when prices drop to those levels. The marketer also negotiates with TRANSCO, the interstate pipeline company, and PNG to get the lowest transportation rates possible. When negotiating transportation costs, the marketer uses the total cost of a BTU of gas compared to the cost of a BTU of #2 fuel. Our gas bill has been reduced by about 5% using this strategy.
ELECTRICITY
Duke Energy provides electric power to the campus through 46 accounts. Approximately 30 of those accounts are either leases for public lighting or for power to very small disperse loads such as irrigation systems, emergency phones, and entrance signs. Another 15 accounts are for houses or offices not on the campus system. The final account is for the campus distribution system. In fiscal year 2008-2009, the total electric bill for the campus was $4.1 million for 71 million KW-hours, or 244 billion BTU’s of power. The Energy Engineer and Duke Energy perform a best rate analysis yearly for all of the electric accounts. During the past fiscal year, UNCG avoided over $500,000 of increased costs compared to the next best alternative rate.
The main campus receives power at a central substation that distributes that power through an underground system to 55 buildings. As with the water, most, but not all, of those buildings have sub-meters that the campus reads and manually enters into a database. Several buildings have multiple power feeds but not all those power feeds are metered.
FUEL OIL
The steam plant burns No. 2 fuel oil as a backup fuel to natural gas. This provides the University with an emergency fuel source and allows PNG to interrupt gas service to the campus during times of peak gas demand. The ability to have gas service interrupted allows the University to pay less for the gas that we do use and to burn whichever fuel is cheaper. The gas company has interrupted service to the University once in the past 5 years. That time was for approximately one week during Hurricane Katrina in the Fall of 2005.
STEAM AND CHILL WATER
The University uses purchased power and gas to create steam and chill water that is distributed to the campus. The steam goes to about 55 buildings on the main part of the campus where it is used for heating, humidification, and to heat domestic hot water. The central chiller plant produces chill water that currently serves 20 buildings, with a phased expansion to eventually serve 36 buildings. Most buildings do not have any method to meter the steam or chill water.
IV.
Goals and Measure
The primary goal of the Strategic Energy Plan is to reduce the total energy consumption by 4% a year.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will track its progress in meeting this Strategic Energy Plan with the following criteria:
• Total Utilities Consumption (KBTU) per Gross Square Foot (GSF) and per Student (FTE)
• Electric Use (KWH) per Gross Square Foot (GSF)
• Water Use (Gallons) per Gross Square Foot (GSF)
• Gas Use (DT) per Gross Square Foot (GSF)
V.
Mandate for Energy Management
Improved energy and cost management must become a vital initiative and an integral part of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s strategic energy plan. Without an adverse impact on the learning environment, energy must be recognized as a controllable operating expense wherein savings are available for education and other critical areas of need. All members of the campus community (students, administrators, faculty, and staff) have important roles to play in a successful energy management program.
An Energy Mandate for The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has been developed and is proposed as an integral part of this Strategic Energy Plan.