Green Campus: A Year of Savings

Throughout 2010, Green Campus student interns were hard at work on their energy efficiency campus projects, and it has paid off.  As a whole, the Green Campus Program in California reports an incredible amount of actual savings for the year:

• $485,000 in saved energy costs 
• Over 3.8 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity saved
• 2.5 million pounds of CO₂ emissions avoided
• 600,000 gallons of water conserved
• 4,800 therms of natural gas saved

At a time when California’s higher education institutions are facing steep cuts in state support, the students participating in Green Campus are offering a ray of hope to their schools by generating dollar savings.

“We’re showing the campus that we’re serious about our education and we’ll do what it takes to keep costs down,” said California State University Long Beach Intern Allie Bussjaeger. Long Beach, one of the 16 Green Campus Program chapters in California, was formed this year along with California State University Fullerton; University of California, San Francisco; and UCLA, joining the rest of the established campuses in the University of California and California State University systems.

“Not only did our established campuses contribute significantly toward these savings targets, but we also were impressed by the ability of those new teams to jump in and initiate exciting and innovative projects,” commented Renee Lafrenz, Project Manager of the Green Campus Program.

All Green Campus projects this year were extraordinary, but two stand-outs deserve special recognition:

UC Santa Cruz

In an effort to simultaneously generate energy savings and create a more enjoyable dining experience, interns at University of California, Santa Cruz instituted a “Dining by Daylight” policy in campus dining halls. During the day – when there is ample light in the dining areas – overhead lights are shut off, creating a calmer, naturally-lit dining area. Through this simple operational change, the campus will save nearly 92,000 kWh annually, which equates to $12,000. Interns even institutionalized this change, and trained food service workers to follow this policy so it will remain in effect after the interns graduate.

Check out a photo of the UC Santa Cruz dining hall above.

Cal Poly Pomona

Interns at Cal Poly Pomona couldn’t help but notice that the campus’ new 750,000 square-foot parking structure was well lit – and always well lit, even when the structure was closed. The Green Campus team took light readings and determined that the place was in fact over-lit, and some lamps could be removed without compromising safety and comfort. The team proposed two changes to the operation of the facility: shutting off the lights between midnight and 6 a.m when it is unoccupied, and de-lamping unnecessary bulbs for additional savings.

With the two changes now in place by campus facilities, the project will save over 200,000 kWh, or $27,000, annually.