October 11, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University has received an award for outstanding achievement in the area of energy efficiency through the Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program for Schools (KEEPS).
About a year ago, WKU was asked to participate in KEEPS, which meant establishing an energy conservation program, creating an energy team, appointing an energy manager and committing to reducing energy consumption and pollution created through the power generation process.
“Though the program was new to us, many of the pieces of the program were already in place at WKU,” said Plant Operations Manager Dale Dyer. “We have been proactive in our approach to energy conservation for some time now.”
Dyer, Kayla Howard and Angie Jackson developed charts and spreadsheets to track WKU’s energy consumption on a monthly basis and compare it to an established benchmark. Those reports are now available from the WKU Website at http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Support/FacMgt/Energyhome.htm.
“It was through the development of the graphs and reports and their accessibility on the Web that viewers could actually start to see the results of all of the energy conservation efforts,” Dyer said.
Some of the energy conservation methods being used include expanding nighttime and weekend temperature setbacks in buildings, replacing incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent lighting, replacing older fluorescent fixtures with more energy efficient ones and enhancing and expanding WKU’s existing energy management system.
As a result, WKU saw a 1 percent increase in electricity costs, despite the addition of 44,000 square feet to the Downing University Center, increased outdoor lighting, a new parking structure and a 7.5 percent rate increase from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Natural gas usage decreased 9.28 percent and the cost decreased 40.6 percent. Overall fuel costs for the Central Heating Plant, combining coal and natural gas, decreased by 4.6 percent.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For more information, contact Dale Dyer, (270) 745-6179.
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