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VU focuses 'energy' on improving building efficiency and changing behaviors during economic slump

Posted 2/4/2009

Recent economic downturns have resulted in a halt to new construction projects at Vanderbilt. Taking advantage of the first “down time” in construction in nearly 20 years, Campus Planning and Construction, VU Plant Operations, and VUMC Plant Services plan to evaluate the function of existing buildings – totaling nearly 18 million square feet – with a focus on improving energy efficiency and energy conservation.

Vanderbilt has been building facilities with sustainable and energy-conserving features for some time because it ensures environmentally-responsible and efficient buildings that will last for years. For example, the Student Life Center, Featheringill Hall and Buttrick Hall each have “green” features such as natural light atriums and water-conserving bathroom fixtures.

Lessons learned from our recent accomplishment of achieving seven buildings LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council at The Commons will be a starting point for continuing to improve building function to save money and resources. 

“We embrace sustainable building practices and adaptive reuse because they make sense for our unique, long-term needs.  Vanderbilt’s buildings have lengthy life spans compared to structures in the commercial sector,” says Andrea George, director of the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office. 

The list of past, present, and future building upgrades and retrofits to existing structures is lengthy, and many of these projects have already shown measurable results:
•    Vanderbilt has saved more than 9 million gallons of water and $64,000/year as a result of installing waterfree urinals and low-flow toilets and faucets in bathrooms on campus during the past two years. 
•    Memorial Gymnasium and the Owen Graduate School of Management have reduced energy consumption by 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, since completing installments of new lighting systems. 
•    Recent lighting retrofits and variable fan drive installations in VUMC are saving 15.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, which equates to $755,000 and 30.3 million pounds of CO2 per year. 

Although these facility improvements allow university buildings to run more efficiently and economically, conservation efforts also target occupants’ behaviors.  Last fall, the ThinkOne program was launched with a goal of asking people to change their energy usage behaviors.

“Some of the actions might seem like small things, but multiplied by hundreds or thousands of times by Vanderbilt employees and students, it can really make an impact,” says George.

Energy savings of up to 15 percent could be realized through simple acts such as turning-off lights in communal spaces, adjusting thermostats to more moderate temperatures and shutting-off office equipment at the end of the day – all of which also lower operational expenses for Vanderbilt.

The synergy of energy-conserving behavior and energy-efficient buildings is central to cutting resource consumption and costs on campus.  As Cyril Stewart, senior director of Facility Strategy and Management, says, “If we don’t change behaviors we will miss the opportunity of saving up to 15 percent or more of our energy consumption.” 

In this economy, every little bit helps.  Please do your part, and think of at least one thing you can do each day to reduce energy consumption at Vanderbilt.

To access a recent article in the City Paper discussing Vanderbilt’s construction lull and plans for energy improvements, please visit  http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=65772. 

For more information on sustainability efforts at Vanderbilt, please visit the SustainVU homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/SustainVU.  To learn more about the ThinkOne energy conservation program, please visit www.vanderbilt.edu/SustainVU/ThinkOne.

Contact: Andrea George, (615) 322-4551
andrea.george@vanderbilt.edu

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