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A kilowatt saved is a penny earned
by Joe Rominiecki In a year that has seen Ohio University make
budget cuts and raise tuition, any effort to save money is beneficial.
By saving energy, the university can both save the environment and a save
few dollars for its students. “If we have to spend more (on energy), it’s
money that won’t be spent elsewhere,” said Ron Chapman, director of energy
management. This was especially true during the summer months,
when the high temperatures caused electricity usage to soar due to air
conditioning run in buildings across campus. The university faced extra fees from the power company, American Electric
Power, if usage exceeded peak usage levels, Chapman said.
However, measures have been and are being taken to save energy
and avoid this situation. This is where Andy Sinozich, project manager
for VESTAR, comes in. OU officials are working with VESTAR, an energy
performance contractor, on the Campus Renewal Project.
According to the OU Facilities Management website, http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/vestar/,
the project aims to save the university $2.5 million by 2004 by reducing
both operational costs and consumption of water, energy and natural gas. “It’s a nice package for the university,” Sinozich said. The benefits
include “updating buildings, saving money and reducing greenhouse emissions.” “We’ve gone into buildings and retrofitted them with energy-conserving
lights, water-conserving water fixtures and HVAC (heating, ventilation
and air conditioning) controls,” Sinozich said. “We’ve also improved efficiency
at Laushe Heating Plant and fields that were irrigated with city water
are now irrigated with well water.” Sinozich also worked with classroom and office
building occupants during the summer to cut back on electricity usage. “We’d go to buildings to talk to occupants and
zone maintenance specialists to see what we can do safely,” he said. “Any
lights in areas not occupied or machinery that doesn’t need to be on,
if no one is in the building we could turn off.” Unfortunately, Facilities Management officials
have no control over consumption in buildings such as residence halls,
where students use electricity and water at will. Thus, programs such
as the Residence Challenge have been implemented. “We have to get people educated,” Chapman said.
There have been various efforts to try to raise student awareness about
energy conservation. The Ohio University Unplugged program ran from
Oct. 7-9 and involved speakers and a street fair with exhibits on saving
resources. The other main strategy to get students involved is the 2002
Conserve and Recycle Residence Challenge. The competition began its second round this
week with the top three halls each from East, South, and West Greens.
After two weeks the top three from those nine halls will compete
in the final round. Over $38,000 was saved in the first four weeks
through conserved water and electricity in the residence halls. Eight
percent of the total dollar amount saved during the competition will be
distributed among the winning halls, Sinozich said. Bromley Hall was among the first-round winners.
Residents there have responded well to the prospect of saving energy and
saving money, said Assistant Resident Director Jida Mohamed. “The students have been really aware of it,” she said.
“ A lot of them did not realize some information, like how much
energy can be conserved by turning off a computer, and how much money
can be saved that comes out of their own pockets.” 2002 Conserve and Recycle Residence Challenge: First Round Results West Green: East Green: South Green:
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