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FIU is shining bright – it continues to top all Florida state universities in energy performance, thanks to a series of initiatives that save the university millions of dollars a year.
FIU has been the top-performing university since the State University System (SUS) began tracking the energy data in 2007. According to the January 2016 SUS Energy Conservation Report released by the SUS Board of Governors, FIU achieved a score of 61.88 kBTU/per square foot for fiscal year 2014-15. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency established kBTU per square foot as the key performance indicator for energy efficiency in its Energy Star rating program.
To put the achievement in perspective, if FIU operated at the level of the #2 university, FIU would have paid almost $8.2 million more in utilities over the past eight years. If FIU had performed at the state average, the university would have paid over $51 million more.
“The most effective way to achieve environmental sustainability is to use less energy,” said John Cal, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management at FIU. “The greenest, cleanest and most renewable energy is the energy we never use. We’re proud that FIU has been recognized for this accomplishment that has a direct impact on the lives of our students, faculty and staff, as well as our environment by establishing a culture of energy performance.”
FIU has achieved this at the same time that it has added new buildings and facilities and increased its student population to more than 54,000. Some of the cost-saving measures include:
- All buildings have individual electric meters and some have real-time power sensors, to allow Facilities Management to monitor and adjust energy performance.
- Central utilities and a central chilled water loop to provide superior efficiency in cooling and humidity control for university buildings.
- An online, computer-based Building Management System to determine each building’s demand and respond accordingly.
- All new buildings are LEED certified with a goal of silver rating.
- Recommissioning of key facilities to ensure they are performing optimally.
- Adoption of LED lights and replacement of fluorescent bulbs – LED light bulbs provide more light and are the most energy efficient and the longest lasting lighting available.
For more on the SUS Energy Conservation Report please click here.
