Energy Management at SMU

Electricity

Using wind-generated electricity.

•  SMU uses wind-generated electricity in the Embrey Engineering Building. This means that 3% of the electricity consumed by SMU is from wind, and the University has joined the EPA Green Power Partnership program.

Central Plant and HVAC Controls Upgrade

•  The chilled water side of the Central Plant was completely renovated with new efficient chillers and cooling towers.
•  Every building’s heating and air-conditioning control system were upgraded to the latest technology.

Exit sign light bulbs

•  All exit sign light bulbs have been replaced with LED bulbs that have a life expectancy of 80 years. This compares to the incandescent bulbs that lasted only three months. The program paid for itself in a year.

Incandescent to Compact Fluorescent

•  Many of the campus 60-100w incandescent lamps were changed to 14-22w compact fluorescent bulbs.

Room lighting

•  Occupancy sensors, which automatically turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms, have been added to 1,500 classrooms, offices, and conference rooms.

Flat-screen computer monitors

•  Flat-screen monitors, which consume much less electricity than CRT monitors, are used throughout the campus. This reduced the amount of electricity consumed and resulted in an annual savings of about $10,000.

Energy Performance Contract

•  The university has entered into an energy performance contract to upgrade various equipment and entirely paid by the energy saving. Phase 1 has been completed, which added a new 2400 ton chiller, upgraded about 750,000 square feet of lighting, added about 80 variable frequency drives and replaced about 100 motors. Phase 2 will concentrate on water use reductions (waterless urinals, low flow showers, water closets and sinks) and upgrade about 200,000 square feet of lighting.

Long Term Electricity Contract

• SMU has contract with Integrys Energy for a flat rate cost for electricity for 10 years. The contract, although not environmental significant, will save the university at least $1 million per year.
• SMU is investigating purchasing the entire output of a biomass generation project in Mesquite, Texas for 9 years, which may save $200K per year.

Energy Recovery

• Excess energy is being recovered from the steam system and used to generate electricity in the Central Plant. It saves about 500 kilowatts, or $80,000, annually.
  
• Heat recovery devices have been placed on boilers to recover heat that would normally go into the air and return it back to the water system.
  
• A “Green Machine” waste-heat generator is being tested at the Central Plant for the next 6 months, allowing unprecedented educational access.