Higher Education Newsletter: March 2004

University of Michigan is Partner of the Year

Congratulations to the University of Michigan! On March 2nd at the 2004 ENERGY STAR Awards ceremony, Bill Verge, Associate Director of Plant Operations, accepted the Partner of the Year Award for Leadership in Energy Management.

Home to 38,000 students, the University of Michigan campus encompasses 538 buildings and more than 20 million ft2 of floor space. An ENERGY STAR partner since 1997, the University has progressed consistently in its implementation of a comprehensive energy management plan. Their organizational commitment was reinforced at the top levels last year when President Dr. Mary Sue Coleman highlighted the University’s ENERGY STAR efforts in her annual presentation to the state legislature. Individual buildings are metered and tracked to understand their energy use and monitor savings. By the end of 2003, the University had invested $7.7 million in lighting improvements and $8.3 million in mechanical system projects. As a result, savings from the energy management plan are conservatively projected at $6.5 million annually. This equates to the full annual tuition for approximately 900 undergraduates, or an increase of 1.5% in the University’s research mission. Kudos to Bill Verge and his entire staff!

ENERGY STAR Networking Web Conferences

As an ENERGY STAR Partner, you are invited to participate in monthly energy management networking Web conferences on the third Wednesday of each month from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM, EST. Pre-registration is necessary, and you will need a 56K modem (minimum) with a separate phone line to participate. Register for these or any of the regularly scheduled Internet training sessions, and select ENERGY STAR Monthly Web Conference. Find out more about the web conferences, schedule, and copies of past web conference presentations.

Web Conference Schedule:

• April 21: Meet the ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year
• May 19: Managing Energy Across Multiple Sites

New Design for ENERGY STAR Plaque

For buildings ranking among the nation’s top 25 percent for energy performance, school districts have relied upon the widespread recognition of the ENERGY STAR to convey their performance excellence. In 2004, EPA redesigned the ENERGY STAR plaque to feature the new logo. Determine how your buildings can qualify for the ENERGY STAR and be recognized among the nation’s top performers.

Technology: Super T8 Fluorescent Lighting

A new fluorescent T8 lamp and electronic ballast lighting system, often called “Super T8s,” is coming on the market. Its advantages in energy efficiency, longer lamp life, and slower lumen depreciation will likely make it the preferred choice for recessed troffers in new construction. With the Super T8’s longer operating hours, it may also be cost effective to retrofit existing T8 electronically ballasted lighting.

Super T8s have a “program start ballast” that allows the lamp to be lit with a softer start-up than the present instant-start T8 ballast. The rated life of the lamp increases from 20,000 hours to 30,000 hours in most cases because the lamp cathode is not subject to a strong inrush of current.