The Retro-commissioning (RCx) team applied for (and later won) the Illinois Governor's Sustainability Award in 2011.  RCx at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was established in 2007 and has been working to reduce energy consumption in campus buildings by repairing and optimizing their air and hydronic systems and restoring buildings to their required operating standards.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: James Hoffer <jhoffer2@illinois.edu>
Date: Tue, May 17, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Subject: Project Completion Tasks
To: Suhail Barot <sbarot@illinois.edu>
Cc: Jennifer Koys <jennifer.koys@gmail.com>


Hi Suhail,

There are a couple of things that I wanted to ask you about regarding the completion of this portion of the project.

I have completed looking over the assessments I received.  Only 5 of the houses were completed.  The majority of the things found wrong with the houses were cleanliness/obstruction issues with vents and baseboards and window problems.  I have left the lists of things that could be fixed on the F&S computer that I worked on and I will email it to Dean.  I am not sure exactly what he will want to fix or leave alone, I still have to discuss with him. 

This is not nearly as many houses as I wanted to get done, and I think this is simply because they ran out of time.  I do not think this part was a failure though, as it will provide good insight to changes that need to be made in the future.  One of the most important things will be to have hard deadlines for the teams to have completed their assessments by. 

I have not received any more emails regarding my position next year.  I do not know if you have talked with Hannah yet or decided what will happen.  Next year there is a good chance that I will be at U of I and working for F&S on a different project.  I believe it will be very easy for me to pass on the work to whoever you choose and help them get the feel for it.  Please let me know when you have selected a person or if you would like me to select one.  I will need to talk with them before the start of next semester.

I left the supply box on the table of the room in the YMCA.

Please inform as to what you would like me to do at this point.

Thanks,
James
 

This 2010 Campus Bike Project Annual Report was created by volunteers at The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign.  

SSC confirmed funding of $15,000 for composting feasibility study 5/9/11.  Study approved 5/12/11 by Chancellor’s Capital Review Committee (CCRC) with Fall 2011 completion target.  Proposal requested from Retainer A/E Foth Engineering, which was also the A/E on the previous composting project before it was cancelled.

In Fall 2010, The Bike Project requested $7,500 in funding from SSC for 50% of a half-time shop manager.  The SSC approved this request.

Earth Week

Each year, our campus celebrates Earth Day with a week full of activities.  The Office of Sustainability collaborated with student groups in planning and organizing events for Earth Week 2011. The Earth Week celebration was intended to widen sustainable practice awareness to the campus community.  The events of the week showcased many organizations that promote sustainability, engaged students to be more involved in sustainable efforts, allowed students to use sustainability in their own lives and also included entertainment to celebrate Earth Day. Michael Ableman (Sustainable Canadian Farmer) visited campus to share his life experiences with the students and community.  The week included workshops, a clothing swap and an organization fair showcasing RSO’s and other units that practice sustainability.  Planning for Earth Week 2012 will begin during the fall semester.  Would you like to help?  Please let us know!

Abbott Power Plant began burning coal again on August 30, 2011 after they stopped on April 12, 2011. The power plant went 20 weeks without coal, but needed to start burning it again as needed to meet the energy demands on campus as students began to return for the Fall 2011 semester.

Meeting with SSC and F&S to confirm details of composting feasibility study scope.  Kevin, Matt, and Morgan worked on completing the project request form.  Kevin, Carl, and Tracy worked on detailing the transportation charges budget.  Kevin also met with Dawn Aubrey about the food waste supply.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 426 T-12 fixtures in Gregory Hall were replaced with the more energy-effiecient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 68,862 hours. The simple payback for this project is -4.1 years. There are 777 T-12 fixtures in Gregory Hall remaining to be switched.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 858 T-12 fixtures in the David Kinley Hall were replaced with the more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 84,223 hours. The simple payback for this project is -5.36 years. There are 54 fixtures that remain to be done in David Kinley Hall.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 195 T-12 fixtures in Morrill Hall were replaced with the more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 25,781 hours. The simple payback for this project is -4.45 years. There are 2,594 T-12 fixtures in Morrill Hall that remain to be switched.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 1,728 T-12 fixtures in Lincoln Hall were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 99,886 hours. The simple payback for this project is -8.03 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 4,248 T-12 fixtures in the Vet Med Basic Sciences Building were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 796,429 hours. The simple payback for this project is 0.11 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 1,990 T-12 fixtures in the Vet Med Large Animal Clinic were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 320,117 hours. The simple payback for this project is 0.23 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 1,928 T-12 fixtures in the Vet Med Small Animal Clinic were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 67,145 hours. The simple payback for this project is 0.83 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 212 T-12 fixtures in the Vet Med Obstetrics Laboratory were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 78,687 hours. The simple payback for this project is -0.73 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 115 T-12 fixtures in the Vet Med Chiller Plant were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 28,742 hours. The simple payback for this project is -0.2 years.

As part of the ICECF 2009 Lighting Retrofit, 177 T-12 fixtures in the Abbott Power Plant were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 27,909 hours. The simple payback for this project is 0.74 years.

At some point in the past, perhaps FY 09, Terry Ruprecht and the Provost’s office worked out an agreement to provide a funding source for “quick payback projects.” This meant that the payback was expected to be quick, typically in the 1-3 year range. This was a onetime funding source.  A variety of projects (10-15) have been brought forward and funded at a value of approximately 1 million dollars. These projects have included lighting retrofits, fume hood removals, chiller control upgrades, adding variable frequency drives (VFDs) to HVAC equipment,  temperature control  upgrades, and hot water control valve replacements.