ABM’s Building Solutions service line has been selected by Wright State University to complete a campus-wide energy conservation project through ABM’s Bundled Energy Solutions program to lower the university’s energy consumption by about 40 percent.
The project, which began in February, includes enhancements to Wright State’s heating and cooling equipment, replacing light fixtures with LED lighting, and utilizing the university’s pond for geothermal cooling.
Over the next 15 years, these projects are expected to save the Dayton, Ohio school $35.8 million.
The energy efficiency upgrades span the university’s 557-acre campus, including 25 academic buildings, 26 student residential buildings and an entertainment and athletics venue, the Wright State University Nutter Center.
Principal upgrades include: eliminating 30 pieces of equipment into one consolidated boiler and chiller system, considerably reducing maintenance costs; retrofitting exterior lights with LED and Induction lighting, cutting lighting energy consumption nearly in half; and installing pressure independent control valves, dramatically reducing energy costs and HVAC performance issues.
Additionally, Wright State asked ABM to advise on an affordable cooling system to the Nutter Center throughout the year. After exploring several options, ABM determined it could use a pond near the Nutter Center as a geothermal cooling system. By adding a heat exchanger in the pond that is equivalent to a 300-ton chiller, the center will have free cooling all winter or until outside air temperatures reach about 80 degrees.
ABM first partnered with Wright State University in 2009 to complete its first energy conservation project, which reduced energy use by more than 20 percent and provided the university with more than $1.3 million in annual energy savings. The project was completed in March 2011.
As a result of these savings, Wright State was awarded $118,000 in demand-side management rebates by Dayton Power and Light.
Energy efficiency projects at University at Albany, completed last month in collaboration with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will save the university about $704,000 in energy costs annually, according to the school.