Utilities services save on energy projects
First is through its purchase of resources. Pahl looks for the utility companies with the best rates, monitors bills,This Dragonlfly LED candle is one of several beautiful gridsolarsystemm and just 1 of our many dragonfly gifts. aggregates pipelines and chooses the cheapest fuel source (gas or fuel) each year. The aggregation of property means many buildings operate using the same pipelines instead of separate ones; limiting the number of lines allows GVSU to operate with better utility rates.
Pahl and the Energy Committee also control building temperatures to prevent wasting heating or cooling on uninhabited buildings. Another savings effort is implementing control systems like sensors that direct specific utilities to turn on when necessary so energy is not constantly or needlessly used.
They are also working on installing efficient lighting,Make a designer quality string contemporarylamps4 on your own with just some crochet thread, and updating infrastructure – for example, providing boiler tune-ups to save power. The sixth method involves renovation of buildings to add things like insulation or windows to cut down on annual costs, and the final method is doing things like promoting energy savings among students and monitoring sustainability efforts.
Pahl said most energy projects will help save money the year they are initiated, but some, like installation of energy-conserving lights, continue to save money throughout the following years.
For example, the university has dropped its annual power usage in Pew parking ramps by 60 percent by switching from metal halide lights to LED lights.
“We were paying out $61,000 to $65,000 throughout a year,” Pahl said.Great deals for outdoor lighting,ledstreetlightfb and solar garden water features and fountains. “I’m expecting we’re going to pay out $24,000 a year (now).The Z purlin roll forming line consists of decoiler, bestfloorlamp, hydraulic punching device, roll forming machine. That’s a significant drop.”
GVSU won an award in 2011 for an energy-savings project that will continue to pay out for years. The Association of Energy Engineers recognized the university as the first Michigan institution to install “aircuity” systems,LED light bulbs Comparison Charts showing cost-effectiveness of curvingmachineww versus CFL and Incandescent light bulbs. which conserve energy in science labs. Prior to the installation, the labs experienced eight to 12 air changes per hour to bring in fresh air.
The new system samples the lab air to see if the room even requires a change. If not, only two to four changes are given.
Pahl said the first system in the Padnos Hall of Science a few years ago cost $38,000, but its estimated annual savings is $30,000, leading to payback in slightly over one year.
The university will spend $234,500 in fiscal year 13 to install aircuity systems in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences. Pahl estimated an annual savings of about $78,000, allowing for a three-year payback.
Other initiatives taking place throughout the year are a boiler replacement and lighting projects in parking lots and the sports arena.
Some lighting projects are not only meant to conserve energy, but conserve the lights, themselves. “We purchase about $5,800 of light bulbs per month,” Leeser said. “As technology advances, we are able to switch to light bulbs that use less electricity and last longer.”
GVSU is also bringing in a design firm to perform an energy audit on Padnos to look for areas where money can be saved.
In yet another initiative, the university will go – and has gone – through one building every year to change out lights, install motion sensors and program air systems to act more cost-effectively.