Ohio University Energy Use of Campus Buildings
Objectives
1.) To develop a methodology that will allow Ohio University to quantify the amount of CO2 created as a result of campus
building energy consumption.
2.) To assist Ohio University in calculating the energy use of all campus buildings (in mmBTU per gross square foot). This is a component
of Ohio House Bill 251, which mandates that all state institutions must reduce their on- and off-campus building energy consumption by at least 20% by the end of FY2014, compared to FY2004 as the benchmark year. mmBTU / gross square foot is the required comparison measure.
3.) To identify buildings that do and do not have meters for utilities including electric (OU, AEP), water, natural gas, steam.
4.) To help the Office of Facilities Management develop a methodology that will determine Priority Areas with respect to future utility meter installations, energy-efficiency retrofits and upgrades. This will help OU develop a better understanding of where such investments are needed most around campus.
5.) To help assess the financial cost of consuming electricity on a "per building" basis
Methods
1.) First, we divided the campus buildings among ourselves into target areas, focusing mostly on greens (South, West, East, North and
College). By doing so, we were able to start the project in a managable way.
How do you eat an elephant....? One bite at a time.
2.) With help from the Office of Facilities Management, we gathered data to learn more about three things: building square footage,
consumption per building for each utility and the status of utility metering per building. More specifically, we gathered data on
GROSS and NET square footage for each building and the overall electricity, steam, water and natural gas usage throughout
campus (in the form of utility invoices, meter readings and Excel spreadsheets). We also aquired data from University Planning
and Implementation (UPI) about each building's square footage. The data is listed as follows:
Ø Building Metering.xls: Preliminary list created by Ron Chapman delineating the utilities for each building and whether or not the buildings are metered accordingly.
ØOU Electric Meter Readings 06-07 (copy2).xls: Contains monthly electric meter readings for each building on the OU metered account. Divided by fiscal year, it extends back to July 1997.
Ø AEP Electric 07-08.xls: Excel spreadsheet displaying all electricity accounts that are metered by AEP. Shows both monthly kWh use and cost. Extends back to July 2001.
Ø Nat. Gas 07-07.xls: Shows the consumption and cost of natural gas use for all OU accounts. Extends back to July 1999.
ØWater Invoice FY06-07/xls: Shows the monthly water consumption for all campus buildings. Extends back to July 2006.
Ø Athens Campus Buildings Gross and Net SQFT.xls: UPI list of gross and net square footage for each campus building.
3.) Using GoogleDocuments and Excel, we created a master list of all campus buildings and their related utilities. By color coding
each utility (OU Electric, AEP Electric, Natural Gas, Water and Steam) we thought that it would be easier to tell them apart.
In the example of electricity, we divided the columns into the following categories:
Ex.) ELECTRIC (Orange and Yellow Categories)
Ø kWh totals for each building (FY o6-07)
Ø MMBtu totals for each building (FY 06-07)
Ø MMBtu / Square Foot (GROSS sq. ft.)
Ø CO2 Emissions for each building (FY 06-07)
Ø $$$ spent on each building (FY 06-07)
Ø $$$ / Sq. Ft.
Ø Meter #
The spreadsheet we made for Ron Chapman and Facilities Management
By using this type of classification, we hoped that Facilities Management could have an easier time investigating the energy use patterns of campus buildings, their contribution to Greenhouse Gas emissions and how much they cost to operate. However, we want to stress that we did not calculate CO2 emissions through the Campus Carbon Calculator, but did so through the figure provided by the EPA. In this case, full emissions won't be able to be calculated until the total kilowatt hours for each fiscal year is calculated by future GHG Inventory teams. We only used the EPA figure to provide a quick estimate of OU's CO2 emissions (from electricity only) while the inventory is still being conducted. For utilties such as steam, water and natural gas, the categories listed above could also be used to determine energy use patterns for each building, provided that appropriate meter data is available. We hope that GHG Inventory teams in the future might be able to devise ways to convert the data for those utlities into CO2 emissions.
4.) Because we had the most data about electricity consumption, we focused most of our efforts on the 06-07 fiscal year. However, as the calculator requires, this should be done for each fiscal year stretching back to 1990. The snapshot of the table above is what we completed for the FY06-07. We recommend that a table just like ours be filled out and completed for the university for each fiscal year.
5.) To synthesize the information, we went through and checked off all the buildings metered for specific utilities and filled in the information
according to the categories we established. We used the following calculations to analyze the information:
CALCULATIONS:
Ø MMBtu Totals: Multiplied kWh by conversion factor 1 kWh = .003412128 MMBtu
(Provided by Ron Chapman of Facilities Management)
ØMMBtu / Square Foot: Divided MMBtu totals for each building by their GROSS square footage
ØCO2 Emissions (Electric Only): Multiplied kWh by conversion factor 1kWh electricity from coal = 2.06 lbs. CO2
(EPA’s Unit Conversions, Emissions Factors and Other Reference Data Report, Nov 2004)
ØCost per kWh: Divided monthly electric bills by kWh consumption for that month
ØCost of kWh to meteric tons of CO2: kWh was converted to MWh by multiplying by 1000. This number was
then multplied by .668 (ECOV of Ohio Coal use)
Results
1.) Electricity Only: From 2001 - 2006, electricity consumption at OU's Athens campus increased by 17.7%. Subsequently, CO2 emissions from electric use increased as well under the proportion of 2.06 lbs. CO2 / kWh of coal-fired electricity. This operates under the assumption that OU gets 100% of its electricity from coal (as provided by AEP).
QUICK FACT: If cars in America consume an average of 600 gallons of fuel per year and 5.3 lbs. of CO2 are emitted per gallon, then one
car emits roughly 3180 lbs. of CO2 per year.
OU's 17.7% increase in electricity consumption from 2001-2006 was equal to adding 12,362 cars to the road!!!
(Source: “Global Warming on the Road: The Climate Impact of America’s Automobiles,” Environmental Defense, 2006)
2.) Forty buildings on campus still do not have electric meters, which is 20% of Athens campus. Therefore, in order to comply with Ohio H.B.
251 electric meters should be installed for all remaining buildings. Additionally, while one can compute the total amount of steam
produced at the OU coal plant, there are no meters at any of the buildings listed as using steam. Furthermore, while most buildings have
water meters, it's hard to determine how much energy is used to provide them with hot water. Future GHG teams should therefore
determine how to obtain such information.
OU Athens Campus Buildings Without Electric Meters.doc
3.) While electricity consumption at OU rose at a fairly steady rate (roughly 4% a year) from 2001-2006, the price of electricity rose much more
unpredictably during the second half of that time period (from 1.6%, to 4.8%, to 7.9% in just three years)
4.) Currently, Ohio University pays close to $.045 / kWh. According to the Energy Information Association, the national average electricity
rate is $.10 / kWh. If OU paid that much in FY2006, the total electric bill for the campus would be roughly double what it is now at
present levels of consumption. Given the unpredictable risk that deregulation poses for Ohio electricity rates in 2009, the mounting costs
for AEP due to recent law-suits ($4.6 billion settlement with Northeastern states) and likely occurence that CO2 emissions will be
regulated in the future, one can be pretty sure that the cost of electricity will continue to rise for Ohio University in the coming years if
it comes from coal. If OU is to consider how it might save money with increasing electricity consumption and rates, major investments
should be made in electrical sources that provide stable prices (wind and solar are good options) and projects that increase the electrical
efficiency of the campus. With alternative energy sources such as wind, there are a few advantages that could help OU offset the rising
costs of coal-fired electricity. For example, it can be provided at a competitive rate of nearly $.05 / kWh with the help of the Production
Tax Credit, can be sold back into the grid for profit and has a highly stable price / kWh once implemented.
For more information see: Cost of Wind Power
5.) As it stands, the data synthesized by our methodology can be plugged into the Campus Carbon Calculator without trouble. MMBTU data
is the required input and through using the formula provided by Ron and our spreadsheet, one can determine the total amount for the
campus. However, we only completed the overall assessment for electricity consumption in the FY 06-07.
6.) At the request of Ron Chapman, our group produced a framework for various data sets including a list of all campus buildings, their
square footage, energy use and meter status (the Google Document picture listed earlier in the page) We also listed all the campus
buildings that are not metered and gave a projection of electricity costs unde various pricing scenarios ("Projected Costs With
Anticipated Rate Increases").
Next Steps for Future GHG Inventory Teams
1.) Convert data for chilled/hot water, steam and natural gas into MMBtu's
For the Campus Carbon Calculator, find ways to calculate MMBtu's produced by other utilities - namely, OU's natural gas, steam and hot
water for the FY06-07. We've already provided the formula for converting kWh into MMBtu's, so the inventory needs to find ways to
convert the natural gas, steam and chilled/hot water units into MMBtu's. In the guidebook for the Clean Air Cool Planet Campus Carbon
Calculator, an explanation is already available for converting chilled water units into MMBtu's:
"...steam and chilled water use data will be collected in 'MMBtu's (million British Thermal Units). Chilled water data may also be recorded
in 'tons,' which actually refers to the equivalent of the amount of cooling from one ton of ice melting in an hour (this factor is equivalent to
12,000 Btu/hour. Multiply "tons" by 0.012 to get MMBtu). This data will hopefully already be compiled, but may require digging through
monthly records in the energy office" (p. 10).
Furthermore, the guidebook states that "you'll also need to know how the steam/chilled water was produced and the approximate loss
of energy in the pipes between the generation facility and the campus" (p. 11). More detailed information can be found in the "Energy"
section on page 9.
Carbon Calculator and User's Guide (Follow the link and scroll to the bottom of the page)
2.) Complete data analysis for each fiscal year starting with 1990
Once Step 1 is completed, determine MMBtu consumption by all utilities for each year stretching back to FY1990. While it may be a long
process, we hope that our framework will help speed things along! Facilities Management may need to provide additional data in order
for this to work.
3.) Compile basic information for all remaining buildings on our spreadsheet
While all Athens Campus buildings have been listed on our spreadsheet, there are a lot of blank spots we didn't have the time to fill in.
Future GHG Inventory Teams should continue focusing their efforts on gathering information for the remaining buidlings, including SQFT,
ID # and basic meter information, just in case we missed anything. Remember that while this spreadsheet can be used to organize
information for the Campus Carbon Calculator, it will also be used by Facilities Management for other purposes. Feel free to add additional
types of information as is relevant.
4.) Familiarize yourselves with the Campus Carbon Calculator and plug in the information as it is needed
This is the most important step. Remember that OU's use of the calculator is a main component of the President's Climate Committment
and should be set as one of the main priorities for any aspect of the GHG Inventory!!!
Useful Files and Information
1.) 
GHG+workbook+from+library+10_31_07-2.xls
2.) GHG Tentative Format.xls
Did You Know?
The Baker University Center's escalators use 2.2 kW's per hour each when running empty and 7.5 kW's when completely full.
Since the escalators are rarely completely full, during the busy time they run about 5 kW per hour. In other words, the escalators
alone consume enough energy to produce roughly 10.3 lbs. of CO2 during one busy hour of the day (5 kWh x 2.06 lbs CO2 / kWh
coal)!!! Think about that next time you find yourself walking through Baker to class ;)
(Numbers provided by Rick Baretta at Kone Elevator & Escalator)
Photo provided by Debbie Moore-Kneen Image courtesy of Project Safecom Inc.
Environmental Impact of Buildings
In the United States alone, buildings account for…
65% of electricity consumption
36% of energy use
30% of greenhouse gas emissions
30% of raw materials used
30% of waste output
12% of potable water consumption
(Info. courtesy of U.S. Green Building Council)
Group members
Matthew Alden (ma236805@ohio.edu)
Matthew Dickinson (mattadickinson@gmail.com)
Debbie Moore-Kneen (dk181598@ohio.edu)
Leah Graham (lg370206@ohio.edu)
Andrew Pierson (pierson.drew@gmail.com)
Sources
1. Ron Chapman, Director of Energy Management
2. Sonia Marcus, Sustainability Coordinator
3. University Planning & Implementation
Useful Links
Carbon Offsets - The Climate Trust
Energy Efficiency at Ohio University
Green Building Blog
Green Energy Ohio
Ohio's Electrical Grid & Carbon Offsets
U.S. Green Building Council
Drafts
Keep your drafts here so you can refer to earlier versions.
Draft 1
Draft 2
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