Budget Bust Part 4: Little steps, big energy savings

10/24/08 - Though the University of Rhode Island entered in a contract to save nine million kilowatt-hours of electricity and millions of dollars, small changes in student behavior could further reduce those costs. Shutting off the lights in one's dormitory, taking a shorter shower and turning off a laptop would reduce the university's consumption of energy and energy expenditures. Associate Director of Housing and Residential Life Jeffrey Plouffe said those reduced expenditures would be passed to students either in the form of a fee reduction or funds for renovation projects, such as painting or new furniture.

"It's good for the planet, it's good for our budget and it's good for your pocket book," Plouffe said, adding that energy in the residential buildings costs about $9.5 million a year, or 27 percent of HRL's annual budget.

In order to find new ideas for cutting energy costs, URI entered in a contract with an energy audit company called NORESCO, which on performs energy audits buildings for other companies, develops plans to save energy and guarantees a certain amount of energy savings.

Utilities Engineer David Lamb said the contract involves six projects at the Kingston, Narragansett Bay and Providence campuses. The project, which costs about $18 million, was funded through a type of public loan called certificates of participation, which act similarly to bonds. The certificates will be paid back with the money saved from the measures NORESCO enacts, Lamb said.

"We've done evaluations, and you do the projects that make sense," he said.

Plouffe said if the guarantee is not met, NORESCO will send the organization a check for the difference.

"There was damn good incentive for them [to deliver the terms of the contract]," Plouffe said.

The projected savings are not actually in cash value, but in specific units such as gallons of oil or kilowatt-hours, Lamb said. This is because the price of those units can fluctuate; so estimating a cash value varies from season to season, whereas specific unit figures are not as volatile, Lamb said.

According to a document Lamb gave the Cigar, NORESCO estimates the six projects will save URI about million kilowatt-hours, 14,000 gallons of oil and more than 100,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

The measures will save an estimated 10.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to planting 217 acres of trees or removing about 1000 cars from the road, the NORESCO estimate said.

But these costs could be multiplied if students would reduce their own energy consumption.

Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life Charles Hall said NORESCO built steam traps in Merrow, Tucker, Peck, Hutchinson and Adams residence halls, which regulate the amount of steam that goes into a building.

The new devices allow for more stable, controlled temperatures, and increases efficiency, because the traps, which collect dust, dirt and other debris, can be cleaned very easily. In addition, newer computer systems to regulate the heat in buildings are being installed, Hall said.

Other measures include motion-sensing lights in many residence halls, water efficient showerheads, insulating strips around doors and water-saving toilets that use less water to flush.

And all of this, Lamb said, will come at no cost to students.

"So essentially, the project pays for itself," Lamb said. "We don't do any projects that don't have an overall cash flow. Each project has its own value."

Plouffe said even if HRL is unable to reduce fees for dorm residents, energy saving behavior on behalf of students could reduce the growth rate of those fees. He pointed out that HRL does not make a profit from students, and does not have interim increases, like tuition fees.

Ten minute showers cost the university about $4 million a year, so taking a five minute shower would cut that cost in half, Plouffe said.

He added shorter showers will reduce water usage, and colder showers also reduce energy consumption, because the water doesn't need to be heated as much. In essence, colder and shorter showers save both water and energy.

The behavioral changes were targeted by surveys, Hall said. An e-mail given to the Cigar, sent by a NORESCO employee to Hall, said 97 percent of residential assistants think URI should conserve energy. It also stated 92 percent of those RAs said they would be willing to help. A survey of RAs also indicated that only 17 percent turn off their computer when they are finished with it.

Plouffe said modern computers re-boot very easily, so there is no reason they should be left on, and laptops can save large amounts of energy just by closing the lid.

And any reductions, no matter how small, would be appreciated. Plouffe said even taking a 10 minute shower instead of a 20 minute shower is an improvement.

"We know it's more comfortable to take a longer shower," he said. "But when you can, try to take a shorter one."

The e-mail Hall gave to the Cigar stated surveys showed the campus-wide average length of a shower is 13.1 minutes.

"That's probably the biggest impact students can have," Lamb said. "That would be tremendous; to have students involved in the conservation process is great.