Governor Rick Perry issued Executive Order RP49 on October 27, 2005 requiring each State Agency and State Institution of Higher Education to develop an energy conservation plan and establish a percentage goal for reducing energy consumption.
The Texas A&M University-Texarkana campus is the smallest university campus in The Texas A&M University System, consisting of three buildings totaling 114,777 square feet. A&M-Texarkana has emphasized energy efficient operation for many years. Below is a summary of energy saving practices utilized by University employees. The majority of these practices have been in place since 1978 when the first East Texas State University at Texarkana building (now A&M-Texarkana) was placed in service.
HVAC
o An energy management system is used to turn off HVAC equipment at night when the university closes, and restarts the equipment 30 minutes before employees arrive in the mornings.
o When the university is closed, i.e. Sundays and holidays, HVAC equipment is programmed to operate a minimal number of hours each day to maintain the building temperature at a reasonably comfortable level.
o In the main building, the heating and cooling systems are not routinely operated simultaneously. The boiler only operates about four months of the year.
o During mild seasons, the physical plant director closely monitors inside air temperatures and humidity levels of the main building, and often operates the full day with no chilled water or hot water needed by overriding the HVAC controls.
o The physical plant director remotely controls thermostats in classrooms and other common areas to prevent erratic temperature adjustments.
Lighting
o Replace standard ballast and T12 fluorescent tubes with electronic ballast and T8 tubes upon ballast failure.
o “Lights Out” reminders are posted in all classrooms.
o Employees have been encouraged to turn off lights, computers and other equipment when they leave their offices at the end of the day.
o The night security guard turns off all but a minimal number of interior lights at night when classes are dismissed.
Miscellaneous
o The domestic water heater circulating pumps are started when employees begin arriving to work, and are stopped at the end of the day. The pumps are not used on days the university is closed.
o Domestic water temperature reduced to 105°F.
o A capacitor station is switched through the energy management system to produce a 92-93% power factor, thereby eliminating additional charges from the electric company.
o The use of personal heaters is discouraged.
Siemens Building Technologies performed an energy audit for A&M-Texarkana in October 2004. The audit confirmed these energy savings procedures are effective. The A&M-Texarkana campus UCI (Utility Cost Index) rating reported in the audit was $0.927/ft² - 38% below the industry recognized level of $1.50/ft² indicator of energy efficient operation. The only recommendation from the energy audit to improve energy efficiency was to complete upgrade of fluorescent lighting fixtures to electronic ballasts and T-8 lights.
Energy Conservation Plan (12-month, beginning December 1, 2005)
1) Instruct employees to turn off lights and computer monitor when leaving office for more than a few minutes.
2) Instruct employees to turn off classroom lights, computer equipment and projectors when leaving classrooms.
3) Upgrade 500 fluorescent fixtures annually to electronic ballast and T-8 lighting.
4) Install occupancy sensor in all campus restrooms (12).
5) Install timer on lights in custodial closets and other selected rooms.
6) Reduce the HVAC system run time on weekends and other times the University is closed.
Additional items identified as future opportunities are:
1) Evaluate foot-candle level in hallways and common areas and eliminate bulbs to reduce lighting level to the minimum.
2) Prohibit portable electric space use
Energy Reduction Goal
A&M-Texarkana will reduce electricity and natural gas use by 1% through implementation of the above Energy Conservation Plan. Below are the targeted use for electricity and natural gas:
|
Utility |
FY2005 Usage |
1% Reduction |
Target Usage |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Electricity |
2,391,840 KWh |
23,918 KWh |
2,367,922 KWh |
|
Natural Gas |
23,926 CCF |
239 CCF |
23,687 CCF |
Gasoline
A preventative maintenance plan has been a part of our vehicle management program since its inception. When gasoline prices began increasing in 2005, A&M-Texarkana took the initiative to encourage employees to reduce state vehicle transportation costs by ensuring that the most economical fuel available was utilized and that travel decisions were made considering the most efficient means of accomplishing the employee’s assignment. With diminishing budgets, the majority of the university faculty and staff responded to the need to contribute to the University’s efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
This emphasis on curbing gasoline expenses resulted in a 21.4% reduction in gallons purchased and a 23.8% reduction in miles driven in fiscal year 2005 when compared to fiscal year 2004. Fiscal year 2005 miles driven and gallons of fuel purchased was the lowest since fiscal year 2000.
The A&M-Texarkana administration will continue emphasizing the need to keep transportation expenses as low as possible and will target development of additional best practices. Considering the 21.4% reduction in gallons of fuel purchased in fiscal year 2005, our target goal is to achieve the same number of gallons as was purchased in fiscal year 2005.
Updates
FY2007 2nd Quarter Update (December 2006 - February 2007)
FY2007 1st Quarter Update (Sept 2006 – Dec, 2006)
FY2006 2nd Quarter Update (December 2005 – February, 2006)
FY2006 3nd Quarter Update (March 2006 – May, 2006)
FY2006 4th Quarter Update (June 2006 – Aug, 2006)