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Green Campus: 2011 Brings Energy and Dollar Savings

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Date: Jan 31, 2012

Green Campus: 2011 Brings Energy and Dollar Savings
Author(s): 
Renee Lafrenz

At a time of rising tuitions and steep cuts for California’s higher education institutions, the students participating in Green Campus are saving their schools money through successful energy efficiency projects. As a whole, the Green Campus Program in California reports an incredible amount of savings for the year: 

  • $7 million in saved energy costs 
  • Over 59 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity saved
  • 40 million pounds of CO2 emissions avoided
  • 36 million gallons of water conserved
  • 232,000 therms of natural gas saved

“We applaud the teams for saving so much energy and identifying so many potential energy savings.  As funders, we challenged the interns to save more money than their programs cost. With savings many times the cost per campus, they are doing a stellar job!” said Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Manager Charles Segerstrom.  PG&E joins Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric to fund 16 Green Campus Program chapters on campuses in the University of California and California State University systems. New Green Campus chapters recently expanded through other utility funding in the Southeast.

“We are continually amazed at our students’ ability to make meaningful energy efficiency projects that save money for their campuses! The environmental and financial benefits of their work serve their campuses well, especially in the current economic climate. The students’ success is also due to close partnerships with faculty mentors, staff, and local electric utility representatives,” commented Green Campus Program Manager Renee Lafrenz.

All Green Campus projects had extraordinary results in 2011, but two deserve special recognition:

UC Irvine: Interns Secure Savings With Outdoor Lighting

In 2011, Green Campus interns at UC Irvine got hundreds of inefficient outdoor lights upgraded with energy-efficient bulbs, helping the campus save thousands of dollars.

Interns worked closely with their facilities staff members to perform ground-level assessments of outdoor lighting fixtures

 on campus. After counting and identifying several hundred outdoor lamps eligible for upgrade across campus, interns took their findings to Facilities Department managers. In addition to identifying which lamps could benefit from upgrades, the interns presented the potential energy savings of retrofitting the lamps and detailed information on where each lamp was located. Impressed with the findings, the Facilities Department replaced these inefficient fixtures with more efficient bulbs. The result: UC Irvine is now saving over 1 million kWh per year, representing an annual savings of $142,000 in actual energy costs. 

Close partnership with the UC Irvine Facilities Department helped Green Campus interns find significant savings. Here Green Campus interns from UC Irvine learn about how to identify inefficient lighting fixtures.

Photo:Close partnership with the UC Irvine Facilities Department helped Green Campus interns find significant savings. Here Green Campus interns from UC Irvine learn about how to identify inefficient lighting fixtures.

UCLA: Interns Save Water, Energy in Campus Kitchens

UCLA interns at the SoCal Gas Energy Resource Center learning about kitchen energy efficiency measures. The interns later applied their knowledge to their audit work with UCLA Dining.Interns at UCLA, the newest university to join the Green Campus Program, spent a great deal of time in the campus dining halls last year – but not just to chow down. Conducting thorough energy and water assessments of the campus kitchens, the interns were able to cook up some significant water savings by recommending more efficient appliances and water fixtures.

The UCLA Green Campus interns’ recommendations could save the campus 1.8 million gallons of water; 165,000 kWh; and approximately $40,000 per year. Campus dining administrators remain enthusiastic about continuing to work with the interns to implement these retrofits on an ongoing basis.

Photo: UCLA interns at the SoCal Gas Energy Resource Center learning about kitchen energy efficiency measures. The interns later applied their knowledge to their audit work with UCLA Dining.

More on Green Campus Savings

See how the Green Campus Program has saved money, energy and more over the past few years:

To learn about the Green Campus Program generally, visit the Green Campus Program page.

Learn About EE and the Next Generation at EE Global

Want to learn more about energy efficiency in the company of the world's leading industry professionals, academics and policy makers? Come to EE Global in Orlando, Fla., March 27-29.

EE Global features executive dialogue sessions like:

  • Cracking the Green Jobs Conundrum
    How can companies capture potential in a mismatched job market? Through effective energy efficiency job training.
  • Tapping Into the Next Generation: How to Effectively Market EE to Kids
    Examine the power of children in driving energy efficiency and successful messaging techniques for reaching this critical audience, including social media and educational curriculum.
  • Inside the Minds of EE Funders & Investors
    Explore how funders and investors evaluate and select energy efficiency projects.