Energy Conservation Measures

In the last ten years, the university has spent $16 million on energy conservation projects. What have we accomplished? At the start of the program our campus used 45 energy units. Now it uses only 30 units. Our peak cooling load would have been 30 cooling units by now, but it is only 22. Our peak electric load would have been 75, but it is less than 50. The reduction in peak demand not only saves energy, it also lets us postpone very large investments in expanding central plant capacities.

Definitions (for the technically inclined):

• Energy unit = 1000 Btu's per square foot per month
• Cooling unit = thousands of tons
• Electric unit = megawatt

Building Energy Conservation at UT

The university has completed 134 distinct energy conservation projects in 44 buildings. These projects usually include modifications to the heating / air conditioning systems and the lighting systems. Projects cost anywhere from $19,000 to over $2 million, but the energy savings generally pay for the modifications in two or three years. Some of the initial money comes from the LoanSTAR program.

What is LoanSTAR? In 1988 the State of Texas established the LoanSTAR program to lend money to State agencies for energy conservation projects. This is a revolving fund, so that agencies (including UT) borrow money from LoanSTAR to pay for energy-conservation modifications, then repay the fund with the savings so the money can be borrowed by other agencies. Low prices for natural gas have made it possible for us to repay most of the loans ahead of schedule.

The university already has spent $16 million on energy conservation projects, and has identified $7.4 million worth of additional improvements. Recently $3.6 million has been made available from LoanSTAR, and UT will spend $600,000 of institutional funds at the Pickle Research Campus.

After all these projects have been completed, we will go back and look for projects that also will save energy, but with a slower payback. These are primarily improvements in lighting equipment.

Water Recovery

The university has had an active water recovery program since the 1970's. We recover water that has been used for cooling laboratory equipment and use it for the air-conditioning cooling towers. No recycled water is used for drinking, flushing or any other "domestic" purpose.

In the history of the program, the university has recycled over nine hundred million gallons. For comparison, this is enough to fill about 50,000 residential swimming pools. We are always looking for more water to reuse! If you know of some lab equipment that uses water for cooling, and the water goes down a drain, please call Rusty Osborne at 471-5050.

Water Conservation in Outdoor Fountains

The university continues to reduce water usage in decorative fountains. Almost all the fountains on campus are of the recirculating type, to use the minimum amount of water. We monitor the water usage of all the outdoor fountains and look for leaks or incorrect adjustments if water usage goes up.