green initiative projects - newscenter · 2012. 9. 12. · lab, and gmcs. as a start to updating...

GREEN INITIATIVE PROJECTS

San Diego State UniversityDepartment of Facilities Services 2012

This report provides an overview of the various Green Initiatives San Diego State University

has accomplished over the past decade. Dollar savings from these initiatives are estimated

at $43,000,000 to date.

The San Diego region has always been one focused on a healthy life style with its Mediter-

ranean climate. San Diego State University’s environmentally conscious students have been

focused on providing an environmentally responsible learning environment long before it

was a part of the national consciousness.

The various projects in this report will be broad in nature highlighting reductions in both

electricity and water usage. Electricity reductions have been achieved through improve-

ments in lighting and HVAC efficiency as well as installations of renewables. Various campus

water projects have reduced SDSU’s water consumption through implementation of new

technology and controls.

Many of the projects in this report involved the interaction of Students. SDSU is fortunate to

have not only a student population that is concerned about the environment, but many of

SDSU’s students want to be involved in the actual projects themselves. Some of the projects

were actually initiated by Students interest in focusing on a particular problem. Their work is

an enduring and meaningful part of the SDSU environment.

While the report highlights many achievements in reducing both electricity and water there

is still a long way to go. The Facilities Services Department is continually looking at new and

different ways to both reduce consumption and increase efficiency. As new technologies, in-

novations and ideas become available, SDSU Facilities Services and its student partnership

will continue to implement the resultant initiatives ever improving SDSU’s learning environ-

ment.

OVERVIEW

The projects in this document were made possible with the help of the following organizations:

GREEN INITIATIVE PROJECTS | SDSU Department of Facilities Services 2012 2

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The SDSU Facilities Services staff replaced 9,000

35 Watt incandescent lamps with full color LED

lamps within the existing Marquee. Incandescent

light is highly inefficient, as about 98% of the

energy input is emitted as heat. LED lamps offer

long service life and high energy efficiency, but

initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent

and incandescent lamps. As a result of this proj-

ect, there has been a reduction in electricity costs

as ell as maintenance costs due to the increased

lifespan of the LEDs versus the light bulbs.

SDSU has received the Director’s Recycling

Award from the City of San Diego Environmental

Services Department. This is the fourth consecu-

tive year that SDSU has won this recycling award

and signifies that SDSU is “a leader in the com-

munity for others to follow.”

The following programs are used to divert more

that 70% of campus waste from landfill sites.

COMPOSTING: Consists of landscaping waste,

food waste, mulching and xeriscape.

CONSTRUCTION/DEMOLITION: Waste generated

from all construction projects on campus. Materi-

als include concrete, asphalt, wood, sheet rock,

metal and other construction materials.

Other Recycling Programs consist of automotive products (tires, oil, antifreeze, batteries) inkjet

and toner cartridges and small electronic devises.

I-8 MARQUEE

RECYCLING & WASTE DIVERSION

Marquee on I-8

Aztec Center Demolition

Completion Date: 2006Savings Per Year: $31,846Installation Cost: $486,000

Project Information:

PROJECT

PROJECT


SDSU has been implementing the design of

Bi-Level LED lighting around the campus, such

as within Peterson Gym 153. By switching to

LED lights and adding bi‐level activity‐sensing

technology the University saves 50% when the

lights are at full power and 80% when they are in

low mode. Other areas that have been updated to

LED lighting include A Lot, PS8, Gateway Center,

and Adams Humanities.

Throughout various parking structures on cam-

pus, Facilities Services has replaced approxi-

mately 534 HID fixtures with the more efficient

5,000 kelvin fluorescent lamps. This replacement

project was funded through the CSU Partnership

with SDGE, resulting in this being a no cost proj-

ect for SDSU. These 5000 kelvin lamps have also

been installed in Peterson Gym, the Engineering

Lab, and GMCS.

As a start to updating campus lighted bollards,

SDSU has replaced 18 HID lamps to LED. These

LEDs offer much longer life and high efficiency,

resulting in a reduced electricity and mainte-

nance cost for the university. This update was

also a no cost project for the university, as SDGE

purchased materials and furnished the labor

required.

CAMPUS LIGHT RETROFITTINGPROJECT 3

Parking Structures 1-6GMCSEngineering LabPeterson Gym (seen above)

Cogen PlantGC 1504AH 112Campus Bollards (seen left)

Areas Retrofitted:

PG 153

Campus lighted bollards

Bi-Level LED Lighting in PS8


SDSU is at the forefront of alternative, renew-

able energy sources, having widely installed

photovoltaic arrays around the campus. On the

roof of Parking Structure 1, a large array (shown

right) is providing not only shade to the vehicles,

but 384.5 kilowatts to the University. This array

helped to certify the new Aztec Student Union as

a LEED platinum building.

Additional photovoltaic arrays on West Commons,

Physical Sciences, Music, Extended Studies Cen-

ter, the SDSU Childrens Center, and the Aztec

Aquaplex are providing another 273.9 kilowatts of

power to the University’s grid. The 600+ kilowatts

of power produced by the vast arrays around

campus have put SDSU at the forefront of alter-

native energy sources for Universities.

As well as providing energy, some of the photo-

voltaic arrays also provide solar thermal energy

for the campus. The array at the Aztec Aquaplex

provides heating to the pools, eliminating the

need for natural gas boilers. The roof top solar

array at he SDSU Childrens Center heat to the

structure for use in the kitchen for preparing

meals, so the center doesn’t need to utilize natu-

ral gas water heaters.

PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYSPROJECT 4

Aztec Aquaplex (seen right)

SDSU Childrens Center

Extended Studies Center

Music

Physical Sciences

West Commons

PS1 (seen above)

Locations:

Aztec Aquaplex Array

Parking Structure 1 Array

Music Rooftop Array


WATER CONSERVATIONPROJECT 5IRRIGATION CONTROLLERS:

SDSU’s Facilities Services staff has installed

new irrigation controllers by Calsense coupled

with new weather stations which are located

throughout the campus. These new weather

stations measure evapotranspiration, provid-

ing data that determines if the surrounding

vegetation requires any water. SDSU has also

implemented new irrigation water nozzles that

reduce water usage by one third.

RESTROOM CONSERVATION:

The SDSU Facilities Services staff has installed

approximately 1,000 LEED certified low flow faucet aerators throughout the campus. An aerator spreads the continuous stream flowing

from the faucet into many little droplets. This helps save water and reduce splashing. Additionally, 287 existing water closets (1.6 gal-

lons per flush) and urinals (0.25 gallons per flush) were replaced throughout the campus. As a result of this project, the campus was

able to benefit from a reduction in purchased water.

WATER RECLAMATION:

Water reclamation currently consists of capturing condensate from the intake air to the Cogeneration Plant and using that in the

cooling towers. Since inception (in May), SDSU has offset 197,472 gallons of potable water ($1,988.00 savings) not including sav-

ings from chemicals that we don’t have to use as

much. SDSU also currently are looking at rainwater

capture and storage to use for washing off grounds

equipment and irrigation of small areas.

FUTURE PROJECTS:

Currently, SDSU’s Facilities Services staff is

investigating the potential for installing a new skid

mounted Reclaimed Water Diversion system. By

installing this system, the University will be able to

reduce their water consumption by an estimated

16%. This system would utilize “greywater” which is

wastewater generated from domestic activities such

as laundry, 565, and bathing,

and can be recycled on‐site for uses such as

landscape irrigation.


In 1984 SDSU installed a small, 2.6 MW, cogenera-

tion plant. The latest upgrade in 2003 increased its

electrical generating power to 14.5 MW. By using

cogeneration for all of its electrical needs, SDSU is

using electrical energy produced and delivered at

an efficiency rate of 77% as opposed to 37% by the

surrounding community using electricity provided by

the local utility. This increase of efficiency in genera-

tion does results in a great reduction of Green House

Gases.

COGENERATION PLANTPROJECT 7

SDSU Facilities Services developed new bicycle lanes

throughout the campus and in so providing these lanes,

reducing gasoline emissions. SDSU Parking Services,

SDSU’s Green Love, Envirobusiness Society, and Associ-

ated Students were instrumental in bringing this project’s

awareness to the community and obtaining funding.

BIKE LANESPROJECT 6

Completion Date: 2003Savings Per Year: $4,000,000Installation Cost: $22,500,000

Project Information:

SDSU Bike Lane


Facilities Services staff has replaced inefficient variable

pneumatic controlled inlet vanes that were connected to

supply fans for existing Heating, Ventilating, Air Condi-

tioning (HVAC) units with new Variable Frequency Drives

(VFD) throughout the campus. The advantage to installing

a VFD is that it can control the rotational speed of an AC

electric motor by controlling the frequency of the electri-

cal power supplied to the motor. By applying this princi-

pal, energy cost saving can be significant, often paying for

the cost of VFD within a matter of months.

SDSU has also been re-commissioning buildings using

Monitoring Based Commissioning (MBCx). This proce-

dure relies on measurement of energy use to diagnose

problems, account for savings, and help ensure the sav-

ings persist through time. The advantage of MBCx is that

it provides sustained energy savings through long term

tracking and trending of data to produce optimal operat-

ing strategies.

HVAC RETROFITTINGPROJECT 8

Manchester HallStudent Services EastStudent Services WestChemical Sciences Laboratory

Buildings Retrofitted:

Performing a Hood Reading in CSL


CAMPUS LIGHT RETROFITTINGLocation Completed Savings/Year Project Cost

Parking Structures 1-6 2006 $17,275 $178,003I-8 Marquee 2006 $31,846 $486,000A Lot, PS 8 2009 $19,293 $39,000GMCS, Engineering Lab 2009 $17,525 $50,000PG 153 2010 $3,654 $46,800Cogeneration Plant 2011 $3,349Campus Wide - Bollards 2011 $272GC 1504 2011 $5,000 $58,471Engineering Lab 2011 $1,233 $11,000PG 152, PG 500 2011 $8,257 $14,400AH 112 2012 $4,000 $43,777Demo Solar (FS Office) 2012 $890

PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYSLocation Completed Savings/Year Project Cost

Aquaplex 2008 $46,475 $840,000SDSU Children’s Center 2011 $10,054 $175,171Extended Studies Center 2005 $1,706 $35,000Music 2002 $7,060 $294,000Physical Sciences 2005 $4,898 $155,400West Commons 2005 $2,460 $157,500PS1 2011 $126,000 $1,571,443Aquaplex 2006 $10,000 $10,000SDSU Childrens Center 2010 $2,298 $25,000

WATER CONSERVATIONProject Completed Savings/Year Project Cost

Irrigation Controllers 2009 $33,512 $61,600Irrigation Nozzles 2009 $14,362 $26,400Faucet Aerators 2009 $1,000 $5,000Water Closets/Urinal Replacement 2008 $78,023 $403,358

CAMPUS POWER CONSERVATIONProject Completed Savings/Year Project Cost

Thermal Energy Storage (Chill Plant) 1992 $150,000 $2,200,000Cogeneration Plant 2003 $4,000,000 $22,000,000MBCx (CSL, MH, SSE, SSW) 2005-2006 $381,218 $290,150

Total Savings / Year $4,981,660

PROJECT SUMMARY


The projects in this document were made possible with the help of the following organizations:

Department of Facilities Services

GREEN INITIATIVE PROJECTS


green initiative projects - newscenter · 2012. 9. 12. · lab, and gmcs. as a start to updating...

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