Berea College
Energy, Natural Resources
and Sustainability
Progress Towards ACUPCC Goals
Presentation for AASHE/STARS Webcast
June 2012
From Humble Beginnings
• Berea College was founded in 1855 as a Utopian
experiment - to educate students and serve the
surrounding area
• First interracial and coeducational school in the
South
• Berea College offers a nationally acclaimed
education to students which represent a wide
range of backgrounds
•
•
No tuition
Labor requirement for all students
• One of the college’s great commitments urges its
students to live simply and with respect for the
environment
Berea College – Who and what is there?
•140 acres
•30+ buildings
•15+ residence halls
•Deep Green Student Residence currently
under construction
• 1600+ students
•500+ staff members
Berea’s Approach to Reducing Energy Consumption
People
Materials
Machines
Processes
Where We’ve Been
•People
•Training of building users
•New employee orientation
•Machines
•Central plant for both heating and cooling
•Eliminate individual building chillers
•Shutdown individual building boilers
Where We’ve Been
•Processes
•Introduce building automation via various platforms
•Heating and cooling set points coordinated
•Real time energy monitoring
•Value commission-mechanical systems
•Materials
•Converted from coal to natural gas and steam to hot
water
•Lighting retrofits
•Occupancy sensors
Where We’ve Been
•
•
•
•
•
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Geothermal systems in 5 buildings
• 1997 - 2005
Sustainable renovation standards developed
in 2002
Campus Environmental Policy Committee
established in 2007
Energy Master Plan to guide new
construction and conservation efforts (2007)
Set goal of 45% reduction in energy use by
2015
Established College Energy Manager’s
position in 2011 – energy and sustainable
operations primary focus
Where We’ve Been
• Funding of Capital Projects – intentional
•
Savings accrue to college
• Over $150 million in sustainable
renovation
•Draper Building Renovations (2002)
•Water efficiency and stormwater management
•Rainwater capture for flushing
•Recycled and natural building materials
•Daylight and ventilation changes allowed for
reduction in energy consumption
Where We’ve Been
•Bruce-Trades Building (2002)
•Utilize thermal mass to reduce energy needs
•66 solar panels installed
•15,000 watt system
•A monitoring system allows real time information to
be accessible to students and others
•Currently collecting data on feasibility of wind
resources on campus
•New power plant constructed 2006
•$23 million, includes distribution
•Can easily retrofit for use of biofuels
Where We’ve Been
•Ecovillage – 2006
•Ecologically and socially sustainable
residential and learning complex
•Includes Child Development Center,
Commons House, Ecological Machine, SENS
demonstration house (off-grid)
•The sustainability goals of the Ecovillage
include:
• reducing energy use by 75%
•reducing per capita water use by 75%
•reusing or composting at least 50% of waste.
Where We’ve Been
•Ecovillage – 2006 (continued)
•The complex includes 50 apartments (18
original and 32 new)
•Key features of the Ecovillage apartments
include:
•solar tubes and compact fluorescent lighting
•low-flow toilets and showerheads
•low-VOC carpets and paints
•ceiling fans
•outdoor clotheslines for drying clothes
Where We’ve Been
Boone Tavern Renovations (2009)
• First LEED Certified hotel in Kentucky
• More efficient heating and cooling
systems allow a drop in energy
consumption of 17.6%
• Included operable windows, ceiling
fans in all guest rooms, master power
switches, lighting retrofits, natural
lighting (addition of skylights and
Solartubes), HVAC upgrades
• Cutting edge technology including a
charging station for electric vehicles
• Ongoing operations continue to be ecofriendly
Berea College
Direct Energy Consumption
Transition from coal to natural gas
primary driver:
Not Just About Energy
•Water
•More efficient fixtures
•More awareness of water use
•Recycling (program began in 1991)
•Berea College recycles 22% of solid waste produced
•Recycling bins located around campus and in every student
residence
•Numerous recycling sites allow for greater numbers of items
such as:
•Batteries, electronics, paper, ink, aluminum, plastic, etc.
•Food Waste
•Dining services compost all food waste
•Switch to tray-less dining cut food waste by 15%
•Savings used to increase local foods purchasing
Where We Are Now
• “Low hanging fruit” has been harvested
•Seeking out next level of strategies
• Three-year energy plan to establish energy
baselines by building, identify potential projects and
expected savings in energy, GHG emissions and
carbon footprint
• Construction of Deep Green Student Residence to
be LEED Platinum certified and achieve petal
recognition under LBC
Where We Are Now
Deep Green Residence Hall
General Info
Area (g.s.f.)
# of beds
Estimated cost
Cost per bed
LEED
LBC
42000
122
$15M
$123K
2009 NC Platinum - currently pursuing ~85 points
Petal Recognition
Energy
EUI
Percent reduction
PV
Technologies
HVAC System
40 - 50 kW (12% to 15% of load)
Master switches, occupancy sensors, window-open sensors
Centralized geothermal
Water
Technologies
Percent reduction
Low-flow (State rejected black and grey-water recovery and composting toilets)
40%
32
54%
Notable Materials
LBC Red List
Wood harvested in College Forest (FSC) and on-site
100% recycled brick
IEQ
No Red List chemicals
Site
Site area
Stormwater
Heat Island
Vegetation
3 acres
Rain gardens, porous paving
Cool roof, porous paving, green islands
Native
Student Involvement
Student labor for furniture (from forest harveted wood)
Building as Teaching Tool
Building dashboard, residence life programming
Where We Are Headed
•People
•Orientation presentation for 1st year students
•Emphasis on energy and sustainability in residence halls
•Update of Climate Action Plan and Sustainability Plan
•Plans become focus of Sustainability Committee
•Behavior change as focus for staff and students
•Real time energy monitoring
•Focus on integrating plans in curriculum
•Focus on integrating with community efforts and planning
•Machines
•Smaller boiler used in summer
•Shut down unneeded boilers
•Explore uses of high efficiency condensing boilers,
geothermal for certain buildings and needs
Where We Are Headed
•Processes
• Consolidation to single, campus-wide building control system
•Wireless thermostats in buildings
• Utility analysis by building to identify energy hogs
• Following green renovation standards
• Aggressive plan for climate neutrality included in CAP update
• Create metrics and tracking systems to measure and analyze
performance
•Materials
•Eliminating fossil fuel use
•Focusing on renewable energy resources
•Solar
•Wind
•Fuel Cells
Presentation Prepared By:
Steve Karcher
VP Operations and Sustainability
Steve_Karcher@berea.edu
Diane Zekind
Berea College Energy Manager
Diane_Zekind@berea.edu
Andrew Wiley
Student Assistant – Office of Operations and Sustainability
andwly@gmail.com