The University of Illinois has begun to renovate its buildings with sustainability in mind. Energy efficient light bulbs, better insulation and window materials, and more sustainable heating and cooling systems are just a few of the efforts being made for long-term energy savings in campus buildings.

“From fiscal years 2002 to 2006 the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois realized an increase in utility costs of approximately 150%. The adverse financial impact was exacerbated by new or deepening cost pressures in nearly every area of campus operation. Spiraling energy costs in that period were a result of world-wide demand for energy; increasingly volatile fuel costs; and to a lesser extent, growth in the campus plant. There are no signs those trends will abate.

Executive Summary

To communicate within departments and colleges, we asked Energy Liaisons established by F&S to promote energy conservation to host presentations in their buildings which will include a display, information, and materials specific to your buildings. The first of these presentations were conducted during Sustainability Week, October 2011. The goal is to use the Energy Liaisons and various campus sustainability committees as grassroots contacts for initiatives such as energy conservation.

*The project is ongoing, and data are still being vetted.*

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 2, objective 4, is "Engage and incentivize the campus community in energy conservation, including a comprehensive energy conservation campaign, with at least 50% of units participating by FY20". As a modern society, we need a change in our every day behavior in order to conserve energy. Doing things like turning off technology for a few hours or shutting off air conditioning or the lights when they aren’t needed are great contributions to conserve energy.

• The campus allocated $160,000 recurring to fund two Pipefitter FTEs to replace steam traps.  Subsequently, the Maintenance Division has added an additional two FTEs to the efforts.  
• Ideally, steam traps will be replaced every five years, on average.
• The SSC contributed $215,000 toward steam reduction at the Library – via PRVs, steam traps and controls.
• The DCEO Boiler Grant is available to further support these efforts.

The iCAP recommends removal of 25 percent of CFHs on campus over the first five years resulting in a total removal of 432 CFHs for a theoretical annual savings $1.62 million dollars and reduction in CFH-produced carbon emissions by 25 percent annually.

The University should continue their current approach of upgrading chemical fume hood exhaust systems.  The iCAP called for converting all existing constant air volume chemical fume hoods to variable air volume chemical fume hoods with energy recovery.  The University’s current approach of reducing total building air change rates to be in-line with current recommendations from various regulatory agencies and standards publishers, and conducting thorough life cycle analyses of each potential exhaust system allows adoption of the best solution for each laboratory building. 

The campus uses thousands of pipes to distribute steam, hot water, and condensate to campus buildings.  Many of these pipes lack proper insulation.  The Maintenance Division has funded two full time insulators to continuously insulate pipes of all types throughout campus.