Berea College & ARAMARK Partner to Update Energy Management Program. Project includes a detailed energy audit and development of an energy baseline for campus buildings

11/29/10

Berea College is continuing its commitment to environmental sustainability with a new phase in energy planning. The college has engaged ARAMARK Higher Education, a leader in providing dining, facility and technical services to more than 600 colleges and universities throughout North America, to assist in a campus-wide evaluation and update of the college’s energy plan. The project will result in improved performance of existing energy systems and ongoing projects to reduce energy consumption and educate students and the broader community about energy issues. Upon completion of the project in 2013, the college expects to save approximately $300,000 per year in energy costs, put in place a variety of educational components to help students understand their energy footprints, and exceed their target baseline reduction of 10% in total emissions from the 2008 baseline prior to 2015.

The first step of this process was the completion of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory, which was conducted by Berea in the fall of 2008 and will be updated during the fall of 2010. The college found that electricity and natural gas purchases account for 75% of the calculated GHG emissions. The college contracted with ARAMARK to establish an energy profile showing baseline performance and to perform a detailed energy audit to identify potential energy conservation measures on campus. ARAMARK engineers spent the summer of 2010 gathering and analyzing energy data, building system information and performing a detailed building-by-building survey to develop a list of valuable projects focused on energy conservation, sustainability and community involvement activities. The team will work together to develop a plan to implement energy-related capital projects in conjunction with lower cost modifications and optimization, with a particular focus on engaging faculty, staff and students with community involvement activities.

The most notable energy management projects currently being undertaken include:

1. Central Plant Free Cooling: The free cooling project will allow the college to produce chilled water using the existing cooling tower and associated pumps with the addition of a new drop tank and flat plate heat exchanger. The system will operate in lieu of standalone chillers at the Presser Music Hall, Rogers-Traylor Art Gallery, Jelkyl Drama Center, and Boone Tavern when outside air temperatures are below the point where the central chiller plant is enabled and the free cooling system is efficient. The cooling tower can evaporate enough water, based on outside air temperature, to reduce the water temperature to between 45-48°F without utilizing electrically driven chillers.
2. Real time monitoring: Install additional energy metering capability and display it on a website where anyone can see the energy being used in a building at any given moment. This site will become the focal point of Berea’s energy program and an excellent tool to learn more about energy. Residents will be able to see the impact they have on building energy use and will have the opportunity to participate in energy reduction competitions across campus and with other colleges. The first phase of this system will be operational before the end of fall 2010 semester.
3. Building System Optimization: There will be an ongoing effort by engineers and facilities personnel to review the operating characteristics of the buildings, fix problems and adjust them to optimum performance. The data gathered by the new metering system, as well as faculty, staff, and student input, will be invaluable in identifying areas of opportunity and evaluating corrective actions.
4. Operable windows in the Seabury Center: Occupants requested a means of allowing cool outside air into the building for cooling during the spring and fall months when the campus central chiller plant is not yet in operation. Approximately 50 operable windows were installed during the summer of 2010 to allow occupants the ability to take full advantage of the free ventilation when outside temperatures allow.

“We are pleased to have proven experts like ARAMARK helping us reach our energy-related goals,” said Steve Karcher, vice president for operations and sustainability at Berea College. “Energy conservation efforts save money, reduce the college’s carbon footprint and provide opportunities to demonstrate environmental stewardship to our students and the larger community.”

Berea College is consistently recognized as one of the country’s most eco-friendly colleges. The college recently completed a major renovation of its historic Boone Tavern Hotel, making it the first and only LEED Gold Certified Hotel in Kentucky. The college’s energy consumption has declined by more than 50% since 1998. Continuing to reduce energy consumption supports Berea’s commitment to environmental stewardship. In June 2007, Berea College signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) – a commitment to exercise leadership in environmental stewardship through the implementation of initiatives which are intended to reach a carbon neutral footprint.