The ECE Building acheived LEED platinum certification in November 2019, and it is striving for a net-zero energy certification. From a vast array of photovoltaic cells, to a chilled beam system to cool and heat the classroom tower, ECE wil accomplish a major campus addition with maximum space and minimal carbon footprint.

Excerpt from the ECE building website:

Shades reduce heat from the sun, and thereby reduce the energy needs for temperature control.  These shades replace the need for seasonal soaping of the windows.  Cost avoidance accrues to the department.  This project was funded by the Student Sustainability Committee.

The Erosion Control and Green Infrastructure Conference will take place 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on July 12, 2019 at the I Hotel and Conference Center. This one-day conference will bring together designers, contractors and other professionals to explore and advance the use of erosion control and green infrastructure in municipal management. Breakfast and lunch will be provided and a tour of the U. of I. Erosion Control Research & Training Center is also being offered.

Efficiently Deliverying Green Energy at the Vet Med Complex

The Facilities and Services team has partnered with Energy Systems Group (ESG) a leading energy services provider, to develop a comprehensive energy savings performance contract (ESCO) project at the Veterinary Medicine Complex.

The Vet Med ESCO project will provide innovative energy efficiency and technology, demonstrable energy savings, and long-term financing solutions for modernization of our facilities and energy infrastructure. The expected energy reduction for this project is 40 percent.

An ESCO is an accredited Energy Service Company that provides all of the services required to design and implement a comprehensive project at the customer facility, from the initial energy audit through long-term guarantee of project savings through an Energy Performance Contract (EPC). The EPC provides customers with a comprehensive set of energy efficiency, renewable energy and distributed generation measures and is accompanied with guarantees that the energy and operational savings produced by the project will be sufficient to finance the full cost of the project.

The equipment used to heat or cool a building often generates heat as a by-product of the HVAC work.  This heat generally escapes when fresh air is brought into the building.  A Heat Recovery Wheel recovers that heat that would escape to the outside, and uses it to make the entire HVAC system more efficient. 

Air-to-air heat recovery systems are required by the university’s Facilities Standards for new capital projects. As a part of the LEED certification and deferred maintenance process, heat recovery wheels have been installed in multiple facilities on campus.

Today's Deferred Maintenance Program is designed to systematically address many maintenance needs, including improved electrical service, ventilation, building envelopes, interior finishes, and other deferred maintenance needs. Energy conservation projects are also being undertaken to reduce energy costs and provide a more sustainable campus.

Occupancy Sensors provide automatic ON/OFF switching of lighting loads to enhance convenience, security and long-term energy savings. Daylight sensors are battery-powered sensors that save energy by dimming or turning off electric lighting when sufficient daylight is available. The sensor detects light in the space and then adjusts the lights to take advantage of daylight, thus conserving energy. These sensors are being incorporated into most new projects and as many retrofit/retrocommissioning projects as possible, with funding and electrical/mechanical application being key factors.

With the careful use of motion detectors, we can reduce energy demands for unoccupied space.  Rather than turning lights off when no one is in the area, we can use bi-level lights to reduce the energy going to the light fixture.  The results in parking lots have been shown to reduce energy demands by as much as 60 percent over the course of a month.  This technology is available with different styles of lighting, including Metal Hallide, LEDs, and Fluorsecent.  Campus is developing a project using bi-level LEDs in Parking Lot E-15.

There are nearly one million fluorescent and incandescent lighting fixtures on campus, and the majority are fluorescent fixtures in buildings.  In 2008, the majority of these fixtures were the T12 style, which are no longer produced.  The new T8 fixture is thiner and much more energy efficient.  To replace all the T12s with T8s will take many years and millions of dollars.  However, the energy savings are great, with each replacement bulb dropping the energy demand from 40 Watts to 28 Watts.  This program has been ongoing for a number of years, and has had fund