Since 2007 our campus has reduced annual electric consumption by about ten percent—from roughly 4.1 million kWh to 3.7 million kWh. This adds up to a saving of more than $200,000 despite the addition of the Academic and Student Activity Center.
We implemented both interior and exterior lighting retrofits, replacing gym lighting with high efficiency fixtures and installing motion sensors for library lighting. LEDs replaced over five hundred interior light bulbs as well as lamps in in the main campus parking lots, interior campus walkways and roads.
We are now developing a plan to expand electrical metering on campus to provide better electricity consumption data on a building-by-building basis.
Fuel-oil consumption also decreased by approximately ten percent, or 23,000 gallons annually, over the past three heating seasons. At current prices, the annual savings from the reduced oil use amounts to more than $70,000. Again, total savings since 2007 exceed $200,000.
Oil consumption has been reduced by a wood gasification boiler in our maintenance facility, replacement of windows in the Stonehenge residence halls, insulation and window replacement in the Harvey Academic Center, and retrofit of heating controls in several academic and residential buildings.
We plan to continue tightening our building envelopes. This spring new windows will be installed in the Wheelock residence hall. We are far from done in our efforts to conserve energy resources.
Lyndon recently partnered with Efficiency Vermont in the “Energy Leadership Challenge”, a collaboration that sets a goal of an additional 7.5% savings in campus energy use through implementation of new energy efficiency projects.
Updates on this program will be forthcoming during the next several months. We are also evaluating the conversion of our oil-fired boilers to a central wood-fired heating plant.
Over the last five years, LSC has worked hard to conserve energy. Until now these significant accomplishments have been in the background. Future issues of the Critic will contain regular reports from the LSC Advisory Committee on Sustainability