Conservation Projects
UNC
Committed to Conserve
10kW Solar Array
UNC has invested in a small 10kw solar array on top of McKee Hall. This was installed fall of
2008. This was a $100,000 installation but Xcel energy rebated 50% of the cost and the
Governors Energy Office gave UNC a $10,000 grant. In the last 4 years this system has
generated 37,250 kWh of electricity without using any fossil fuels. Check this out at:
https://easyview.auroravision.net/easyview/index.html?entityId=232909
Chilled and Filtered Bottle Fillers
UNC is in the process of changing our drinking fountains on campus to accommodate
bottle fillers. These fillers have built-in bottle counters. See how many bottles have
been saved from landfills the next time you pass one in your building. 50+ filling
stations have been installed on campus and 5 more (at the UC) are on the list.
Automatic Flush Valves
By replacing all 250 1 gallon per flush to 1 pint per flush these urinal flush
valves save 20,350 gallons of water per day. That is $109.28 per day savings.
With a generous rebate from the city of Greeley the valves paid for themselves
in just under 3 months.
Controllable Breaker Panels
UNC installed a BAS controlled breaker system at Michener Library in spring of 2009.
These control the lighting circuits and turn off the lights in unoccupied conditions.
Michener was originally designed without any light controls. Since we are able to
shut off the lights now it is projected to save ~ $40,000 annually.
LED Breezeway Lights At Mckee Hall
UNC is currently installing new breezeway lights at Mckee Hall. These are LED
and only use 54 watts compared to the 250 watt lamps that were being used.
The savings in energy costs plus rebates from our electric provider and
reduced maintenance costs pays for the lights in just over 2½ years and last for
10 years compared to the old style lasting 2 years. Old fixtures cost $5,150
annually. New fixtures cost $1,747.
Induction Lighting Retrofits on Central Campus
We have replaced all the walkway lights on Central Campus with induction
type lights. By using this type of system over the high pressure sodium style
we cut the energy consumption 65%. This savings plus rebates from our
electric provider gave us a 1½ year return on our investment.
Variable Frequency Drives
We utilize variable frequency drives on most all our pumps and fans on
campus. This technology allows us to only use the amount of power need to
accomplish the task and backs off on the speed of the motors that is needed.
This saves as much as 50% of the power over running the motors at full speed.
This also extends the life of the equipment.
Premium Efficiency Motors
UNC uses only premium efficiency motors when replacing old motors and in
new construction. In most cases we receive a substantial rebate from Xcel
Energy for purchasing these motors. These motors have an average return on
investment of two years.
Low Flow Shower Heads
All shower heads on campus are 2.5 gallon per minute. This saves not
only water but also natural gas that heats the water.
Low Flow Faucet Aerators
All aerators on campus are .5 gallon pre minute. This also saves water
and natural gas. Be patient it takes a while to fill a coffee pot.
Low Consumption Toilets
UNC has replaced all the old style high consumption toilets with 1.6 GPF
design. The toilet replacements were part of a campus wide performance
contract in 2004 and a grant project through the city of Greeley in 2009.
SAVING DRINKING WATER
The University is fortunate to own Water Rights and we utilize
raw water from the mountains to water all our sports fields and
most of our turf on the west campus. It amounts to about 64
acres total. Not only does it save millions of gallons of valuable
drinking water, it also saves the university thousands of dollars
each year .
Future Projects
UNC recently installed 6 solar powered walkway lights in our xeriscapes
area. This is a first for us. Keep your eyes open. If they work out you
might see more.
Trial Lighting in J-lot
UNC have some trial lights on order for J-Lot. We are going to pursue
lighting the entire lot with LED lights. Replacing 400 watt MH with 255
watt LED.
For those of you that don’t know, last fall the students
introduced the Student Leadership for Environmental Action
Fund(Student LEAF). One dollar per credit hour is put into
this organization to fund environmentally friendly projects on
campus.
There first project was to fund a campus wide automated
sprinkler system to help us conserve water and have a
healthier turf on campus.
Irrigation Central Control System
For the past ten years the University has been building the
foundation for an Irrigation system that would be standardized
across the entire campus. That foundation consists of the
installation of 27 –plus Signature Constellation Controllers.
Why Central Control?
• Conserve Water
• Labor Savings
• Remote Access to Controllers
• Weather or ET Control
• Web Based Control
• Flow Monitoring
• Alarms
Xeriscapes at the University of Northern Colorado
The landscape Master plan includes a directive that requires at least 20%
of new landscape designs be Xeric (low water –use) in nature. The recent
Butler Hancock Addition was awarded LEED Gold, which included low
water use landscape plants and drip irrigation systems. Xeric Landscapes
compose about 8% of the total landscaped acreage. See the Link:
www.unco.edu/facility.landscaping/index.html
TREE CAMPUS USA
•
In April,2012, the University of Northern
Colorado participated in the Annual Arbor
Day Tree Plantings. This Arbor Day
observance will be documented in UNC’s
formal application in January to the Arbor
Day Foundation for Tree Campus USA
designation — national recognition that’s
the equivalent of Tree City USA status for
municipalities. See Link:
www.arborday.org/programs/treecampus
usa
This summer, UNC conducted an inventory
of the campus trees . There are 3695 trees
for a combined value of $19,605,400. In
January UNC was officially named a “Tree
Campus USA”.
TREE CAMPUS USA
This is one of our efforts to be a Sustainable University. This
program awards national recognition to college campuses
promoting healthy urban forest management and engaging the
campus community in environmental stewardship
Yard-Waste Recycling at the
University of Northern Colorado
Turning this…………..
………Into that
YARD WASTE RECYCLING with
A-1 Organics
Since 2008, the University has successfully diverted nearly
3000 cubic yards of waste from Colorado landfills. The end
result of our recycling efforts? High quality composts,
mulches, and other recycled materials, produced by A-I
Organics. These products are available to the landscape
industry and Colorado citizens for landscaping and soil
amendment purposes. The university also receives a
significant discount on its products due to our contribution
of raw materials, which include tree & shrub pruning waste,
leaves, discarded sod, weeds, branches, grass clippings, and
other compostable yard waste.
Green Cleaning Initiatives
UNC
Committed to Conserve
Green Seal Towels and Tissue
EcoSoft™ Green Seal™ universal towels and tissue are designed for those seeking to achieve
green status for their facility and purchase tissue produced with methods less harmful to the
environment. It is 100% recycled and exceeds EPA guidelines for post-consumer wastepaper
content.
Tissue is Green Seal™ certified and contains up to 49% post-consumer wastepaper
Towels are Green Seal™ certified and contains up to 73% post-consumer wastepaper
Made with de-inking and bleaching processes free of chlorine and other harmful chemicals
Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning
The University has implemented a low moisture carpet cleaning program in all state
buildings utilizing the SmartCare program by R.E. Whittaker.
R.E. Whittaker Company has been an industry leader in the comprehensive planned
approach to carpet maintenance for over 25 years, developing the SMART CARE®
Program to extend carpet life cycles while being safe for the user, safe for the carpet
and safe for the environment. Whittaker's program is based on superior,
scientifically-proven interim maintenance using low-moisture CRYSTAL DRY ®
encapsulation technology and cylindrical brush pile-lifting agitation.
CAMPUS SURPLUS
PROGRAM
Campus Surplus Program
The UNC Campus Surplus houses used office furniture that has been discarded from various
departments on campus. The surplus is open to the campus community every Wednesday from 10:0011:30a.m. and moving services will deliver selected furniture anywhere on campus. For more
information, contact the Service Center at 351-2446.
RECYCLING PROGRAM
UNC Recycling Program
From the beginning of the Recycling Program in 2002 to the end of 2011,
UNC has impacted the environment by saving a total of:
22,396 trees
53,030 barrels of oil
9,222,067 gallons of water
79,046 pounds of air pollution exposure
5,454 cubic yards of landfill space
7,288,812 kWh of electricity
30,246 btu's of energy
For more information please visit: www.unco.edu/facility/Recycling/
Student Leaf Recycling Bin Grant
Student leaf has funded a recycling initiative that will bring 20 outdoor
recycling containers to campus. The bins will provide locations for the campus
community to recycle cans, bottles and paper and will be placed in high traffic
areas across campus.
Conservation tips
•
- Re-use paper bags when grocery shopping. Doing it 700 times saves one 15-year-old tree. Avoid using plastic
grocery bag, which start out as oil – a non-renewable resource.
•
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs lamps produce the same amount of light but use one-fourth the electricity of
standard incandescent bulbs.
•
- Save $30 or more in energy costs over the life of each compact fluorescent bulb that you use instead of an
incandescent bulb.
•
- Even a one- or two-minute reduction in showering time can save up to 700 gallons of water per month.
•
- Fixing a leaky faucet saves 20 gallons or more of water per day.
•
- Turning off the water while brushing your teeth saves three gallons each day.
•
- If every American recycled his or her newspaper just one day a week, we would save about 36 million trees a
year.
•
- The blowing air from ceiling or other fans can make you feel 5 degrees cooler, with or without air conditioning,
and fans use a lot less electricity than air conditioners. - Is your refrigerator 10 years old or older? An Energy Starqualified fridge can save you $30 to $40 a year in electricity costs, offsetting the slightly higher purchase price in
no time.
More tips
•
- Is your refrigerator 10 years old or older? An Energy Star-qualified fridge can save you $30 to $40 a year in
electricity costs, offsetting the slightly higher purchase price in no time.
•
- If just one in 10 homes used Energy Star-qualified appliances, the positive effect on the environment would be
like planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.
•
- To save the most energy and money, use energy-efficient lights bulbs in your home’s most-used fixtures - kitchen
ceiling lights, living room table and floor lamps, bathroom vanity and outdoor porch lights.
•
- Turning off one computer and monitor nightly and on weekends can save up to $80 a year in electricity costs.
•
- A 10-degree reduction in your hot water heater’s setting can save up to 5 percent on water heating costs.
•
- As an Energy Star partner, UNC has so far changed over 1 million light bulbs on campus to more energy efficient
types and converted over 2,000 faucets, shower heads and toilets to low-flow fixtures.
•
- UNC will spend more than $4 million to purchase electricity and natural gas this fiscal year.
•
- UNC recycles over 300,000 pounds of materials a year, which saves almost 3,000 trees and over 1 million gallons
of water.
UNC
Committed to Making a Difference
• Dave Nalley
• Utility Systems and Resource Conservation
Manager
• Dave.nalley@unco.edu
• Please send me any building schedule changes
so we can set any lighting and HVAC
accordingly.