Spring Break
Program working to cut energy use
by Jillian Wagner
News Editor
News | 9/9/08
Posted online at 5:14 AM EST on 9/9/08
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French's Energy Savings Program to reduce energy usage on campus and minimize projected spending is now in its second phase, according to Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins.
"The goal of the energy savings program is simply to make every effort to minimize campus energy consumption using all the tools available, such as energy management systems, energy efficient equipment, and energy conserving habits by students, faculty, and staff," Collins wrote in an Aug. 31 e-mail to the Justice.
In a campuswide e-mail sent in 2005, French wrote that phase one of the program performed "no-cost and low-cost operations and maintenance measures and deferred maintenance items (addressing most buildings in the Science Center, Spingold Theater, Sachar International Center, and the University's central heating plant)."
According to Energy Manager Bill Bushey, phase two of the Energy Savings Program is simply a continued emphasis on energy conservation, except that it is focusing on different areas of the campus that have not been addressed at this point, such as the new Shapiro Science Center.
The initiatives that phase two of the program will address include "the replacement of deteriorated underground steam piping, expanded use of energy management systems in buildings, building lighting retrofits, installation of variable speed drives on fans and motors, and HVAC system efficiency upgrades," Collins wrote.
Collins cited several reasons for why the Energy Savings Program is important to Brandeis. "Saving energy has a direct economic return; less money spent on energy means more resources available to fulfill the educational mission of the University," Collins wrote.
"Also, the University has an obligation to reduce energy use because of the large contribution to climate change burning fossil fuel creates," he added. "Saving energy through large scale efficiency upgrades and numerous behavioral change programs is a way to continue the University's social justice mission," Collins wrote.
"The goal of the energy savings program is simply to make every effort to minimize campus energy consumption using all the tools available, such as energy management systems, energy efficient equipment, and energy conserving habits by students, faculty, and staff," Collins wrote in an Aug. 31 e-mail to the Justice.
In a campuswide e-mail sent in 2005, French wrote that phase one of the program performed "no-cost and low-cost operations and maintenance measures and deferred maintenance items (addressing most buildings in the Science Center, Spingold Theater, Sachar International Center, and the University's central heating plant)."
According to Energy Manager Bill Bushey, phase two of the Energy Savings Program is simply a continued emphasis on energy conservation, except that it is focusing on different areas of the campus that have not been addressed at this point, such as the new Shapiro Science Center.
The initiatives that phase two of the program will address include "the replacement of deteriorated underground steam piping, expanded use of energy management systems in buildings, building lighting retrofits, installation of variable speed drives on fans and motors, and HVAC system efficiency upgrades," Collins wrote.
Collins cited several reasons for why the Energy Savings Program is important to Brandeis. "Saving energy has a direct economic return; less money spent on energy means more resources available to fulfill the educational mission of the University," Collins wrote.
"Also, the University has an obligation to reduce energy use because of the large contribution to climate change burning fossil fuel creates," he added. "Saving energy through large scale efficiency upgrades and numerous behavioral change programs is a way to continue the University's social justice mission," Collins wrote.
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