Rice works to keep energy costs down

Rice works to keep energy costs down

BY MARGOT DIMOND
Rice News staff

The rising cost of energy — due to an increase in demand worldwide and compounded by a series of severe weather events and political uncertainties in the Middle East — has brought energy conservation back into sharp focus.

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Rice University is among the many institutions with large energy budgets examining ways to save on future energy expenditures. Facilities, Engineering and Planning is currently working with the Office of the President and senior leadership across campus to develop energy-use guidelines to help Rice reduce energy consumption.

The recent spate of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico severely damaged natural gas production facilities there, pushing natural gas prices to record highs. Because natural gas is increasingly used as a key fuel to generate electricity in the U.S., electricity costs are also rising.
Rice University is among the many institutions with large energy budgets examining ways to save on future energy expenditures. The cost of utilities at Rice is a function of both energy prices and the intensity of use.

Rice’s Department of Facilities, Engineering and Planning (FE&P) prepurchases its energy as much as two years in advance, according to Douglas Tomlinson, assistant vice president for project management and engineering in FE&P. In July 2006, when the current contract expires, the university could experience a 40 percent increase over the almost $10 million that is budgeted for utilities in that fiscal year, should current high energy prices not subside.

“This increase is going to have a significant impact on the university’s operating budget,” Tomlinson said.

Barbara White Bryson, associate vice president for FE&P, said her department is currently working with the Office of the President and senior leadership across the campus to develop energy-use guidelines that will help Rice reduce energy consumption.

“The university already does a very good job of purchasing our energy at the best-possible prices and locking the prices in for an extended period of time,” she said. “But we need to develop additional measures that will reduce the impact of the fluctuations in the market.”

In fact, FE&P has already begun work in this area. “We have a very sophisticated energy and market monitoring system,” Bryson said. “The way we use and buy energy is enhanced by our ability to monitor energy consumption on campus.”

In addition, FE&P buys equipment, replaces lights and fixtures, and designs architectural features with energy savings in mind. “We have embedded energy conservation in the construction and design of all new facilities,” Bryson said.

And the department now has a sustainability planner, Richard Johnson. An important part of his job is finding ways for Rice to maximize its energy resources.

To assist the Rice community in its conservation efforts, FE&P has established Energy Tiger Teams to find problems the average energy user wouldn’t recognize.

One of these teams is working with Kathleen Matthews, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, to make buildings in the school more energy-efficient. This project started with Howard Keck Hall.

“We had to ask ourselves where we could make changes that wouldn’t impact programs or research and yet would yield energy savings,” Matthews said. “We have to do this very carefully and systematically to make sure we’re not interfering with the work that is going on.”

FE&P has energy modeling and monitoring capabilities for buildings that provide near real-time feedback on whether a particular energy-saving action was effective. They are using Keck Hall as a pilot building to check temperature changes and their overall impact on energy consumption.

“The reductions at Keck Hall are showing great promise,” said Eric Valentine, energy management coordinator for FE&P.
William Safron, research technician in biochemistry and cell biology, serves as the liaison for natural sciences with their building energy users, FE&P and the Central Plant. At Keck Hall, he makes sure fume hoods are closed and checks the humidity and temperature monitors located in various parts of the building.

Matthews said it’s important that there be a partnership between the academic units and FE&P. “There has to be someone who pays attention to the occupants, especially in research buildings because of the need for airflow to meet safety standards,” she said. “Also, experiments can be highly temperature- and humidity-sensitive, so we must be careful in our efforts to ensure consistent conditions for the work under way.

“Understanding these building systems is incredibly complex. They are like living organisms. You have to be thoughtful about what you change,” Matthews said.

Bryson said that FE&P plans to expand this type of program throughout the campus. In the meantime, the FE&P staff wants to encourage the Rice community to help conserve energy.

Valentine believes that there needs to be a “culture change” in workplaces when it comes to energy. “At home, we do everything we can to reduce energy costs,” he said. “During the summer months, we would never prop open an outside door, keep our thermostats set at low levels while we were away or plug in an electric space heater if the air conditioner was also on. But at work, we don’t really think about it.

“Conservation requires participation by the entire community,” Valentine said.

Bryson said the challenge is to work with the occupants of each building to see what changes they can make, then provide feedback to show how well these changes are working. “It’s our feeling that once people understand the cost impact of not conserving — on programs and opportunities for the university — they will make an effort to help,” she said.

Tomlinson agreed. “Every dollar that has to be spent on utilities is a dollar that isn’t available to support teaching or research,” he said.