A building at the 麻豆原创 reduced its energy consumption by 63 percent in one year and won first place in the national 鈥淏attle of the Buildings鈥� contest sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The electricity bill for Parking Garage C was cut by more than half in the EPA鈥檚 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition, which challenged 245 commercial buildings to save energy, reduce costs and protect Americans鈥� health and the environment. The results were announced today.
Parking Garage C is the only stand-alone parking structure to take part in the two-year-old competition. The garage is located on the east side of 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus, near the engineering buildings.
鈥淭hese types of initiatives allow us to further demonstrate 麻豆原创鈥檚 commitment to sustainability,鈥� said David Norvell, 麻豆原创鈥檚 director of Sustainability & Energy Management. 鈥淎 parking garage winning the competition also shows that there are ways of using energy more efficiently in all types of facilities.鈥�
The EPA competition included 26 types of commercial buildings from 33 states and the District of Columbia. Participants included schools, hotels and museums.
The competition compared buildings鈥� energy use between two yearlong periods by measuring their energy use intensity (EUI), which represents the energy consumed by a building relative to its size. Parking Garage C won for demonstrating the greatest percentage reduction in EUI from Sept. 1, 2010, through Aug. 31, 2011.
At 麻豆原创, the Department of Sustainability & Energy Management worked with Parking and Transportation Services to make Garage C as efficient as possible by performing retrofits of older equipment.
All of the garage鈥檚 interior lights were replaced with T5 fluorescent bulbs that use less energy and improve light quality. New low-maintenance, energy-efficient LED lighting fixtures are anticipated to require little to no service for about 14 years.
鈥淥n our campus, all six parking structures now maintain the same lighting, resulting in a friendlier environment, reduction in pollution and longer-lasting bulbs,鈥� said Kris Singh, director of 麻豆原创 Parking and Transportation Services.
According to the EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. An average of 30 percent of energy used by commercial properties is wasted, the agency says.
From improvements in operations and maintenance to upgrades in equipment and technology, this year鈥檚 鈥淏attle of the Buildings鈥� competitors together saved more than $5.2 million on annual utility bills. They also prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by more than 3,600 homes per year.
To learn more about 鈥淏attle of the Buildings,鈥� go to .