Energy Management

Due to the increased cost of crude oil, ECU’s Environmental Sustainability Team has made energy conservation its top priority.  Although the University has upgraded many mechanical and electrical systems to more energy efficient units, the team decided that the University should revisit energy conservation. 

Following is a list of additional energy conservation actions that are being implemented.

Exterior Lighting:

ð     ECU Police will survey outside lighting to see which areas, such as parking lots, may be shut off during certain hours and still maintain adequate security.  EH&S will review their recommendations for safety.

ð     Only emergency lighting is being used at the stadium when not in use.

ð     Considering closing the freshman parking lot during summer session and marking with appropriate signage.

ð     School of Medicine is considering the use of timers for curtailing lighting on remote parking lots.

ð     Considering turning off architectural lighting not used for pedestrian lighting after certain hours.

Eliminating the Use of Incandescent Bulbs:

ð     Facilities Services is working to ensure all incandescent light bulbs in use are replaced by energy saving fluorescent bulbs.

ð     All Housekeeping closets will be upgraded with either fluorescent fixtures or compact fluorescent lights.  Some of the closets are complete with the remainder being completed at a rate of one building per week.

Public Relations Campaign:

ð     An energy conservation web site has been developed. 

ð     Housing Services is benchmarking with other Universities to obtain ideas for a student campaign.  The student campaign is going to be a summer project for the Marketing staff.

ð     An Announce message was sent out over campus e-mail to encourage faculty and staff to turn off their PCs and other office equipment at the end of the day.  The URL for the Energy conservation web page was also provided in the message.

Residence Halls:

ð     Housing and Facilities Services are developing a summer maintenance and cleaning plan for residence halls to accommodate shut down of unoccupied buildings.  They are also developing an exception list for building systems (i.e. fire alarms, LAN hubs, etc.) that cannot be shut down.

Calendar Committee:

ð     The Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services met with the Calendar Committee to discuss the effects an early August start-up has on utility costs for future planning consideration.  He is now a member of the University Calendar Committee and will continue to emphasize this initiative.

ð     For several years, the University has worked on a modified summer schedule that allowed for a half day off on Fridays.  This is an added benefit to employees and has saved the University hundreds of thousands of dollars in utility costs each year.

ð     Facilities Services is reviewing the list of departments that do not participate in this program to ensure that the participation rate is as high as possible.

Computer Lab and Library Hours:

ð     The Joyner Library is reviewing its occupancy/usage and will make recommendations based on these numbers.

ð     Facilities Services is working with the ITCS computer lab coordinator to get some energy conservation practices built into the computer lab use rules.

Illuminated Vending Machines:

ð     Outdoor vending machine placements will remain illuminated.

ð     Indoor placements will have lighting turned off, but need to have some type of notification affixed to the machine informing potential users that the machine is operational.

Mendenhall Student Center:

ð     The staff are evaluating the off-hour schedule and implementing a comprehensive energy savings plan.

ð     The newer section of the building has been placed on a setback schedule.  Since the older section of this facility has pneumatic controls that cannot be set back, a project is being planned to upgrade the controls for setback scheduling. 

ð     Approximately 300-400 incandescent bulbs have been replaced with compact fluorescent bulbs.

Student Rec. Center:

ð     Eliminated 28 light bulbs and still remain within OSHA standards for stairwells.

ð     Replaced all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent.

ð     Reduced lighting in individual offices and asked staff to turn off lights and equipment when not necessary.

ð     A set back schedule has been drafted and Facilities Services is working to tweak the dehumidifier system.

ð     The Recreational Services Council continuously monitors statistics and hours are routinely adjusted accordingly.