Turning up the heat: College campuses are conserving more energy

As North Carolinians deal with the usual July heat wave, universities across the state are reaping the benefits of tighter control of their indoor temperatures.

This summer, sustainability officers at Duke University and N.C. State University announced policies to regulate indoor temperatures, a policy that UNC-Chapel Hill adopted this time last year.

Participating campus buildings at Duke will now be set to 76 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter — an industry standard — to provide the most comfort to the largest amount of people.

The measure will reduce the school’s carbon footprint and saving money.

Duke officials said they believe that controlling temperatures could save as much as $600,000 in heating and cooling costs. Other universities like UNC-Chapel Hill and Elon University are already seeing those benefits.

“The big benefit in establishing a temperature standard is that when the temperatures are between a certain range, it’s saying, ‘Don’t provide any (excess) energy. Heating or cooling,’” said Chris Martin, director of energy management at UNC-CH.

UNC-CH became a leader in temperature control when sustainability officers implemented a campuswide temperature control program last July. Along with other sustainable practices, temperature regulation saved the university $3.6 million in the last year.

Martin compared unregulated buildings to a driver stepping on the gas and the breaks at the same time. Before temperature regulation, it took twice as much energy to cool and heat campus buildings, Martin said.

“We allow it to coast more often,” he said. “It may float from season to season five to six degrees but it won’t do it on a daily basis.”

Older buildings, new challenges

The 76-degree indoor temperature could cause students and staff to feel a bit warmer this summer than past years, but the nudge in temperature is worth it, said Robert Buchholz, director of physical plant at Elon University.

Since regulating indoor temperatures, Elon has seen a five percent drop in energy use, he said.

But temperature regulation on campuses with older buildings is difficult. Buildings equipped with steam radiators can’t be regulated like buildings with automatic controls.

“It’s been an evolution,” Buchholz said. “Where I can go in and control the standards, we do that.”

Regulating older buildings is a challenge faced by UNC-CH as well.

“UNC-Chapel Hill is the oldest state university, which means it has a whole range of mechanical systems and capabilities,” Martin said.

Because of this, energy officials at UNC-CH try to find the lowest cost options for controlling indoor temperatures in all of its buildings.

Replacing outdated technology is the last option because of the high cost, Martin said.

Trying to please everyone

University officials created temperature regulations with the intent to provide the most comfort to the largest amount of people. But energy and sustainability officials are quick to point out that the policy won’t please everyone.

“This temperature setting is probably a little bit higher than people would have allowed before and that’s because of the sustainability initiatives,” Buchholz said.

While Buchholz hasn’t heard any complaints, he understands some people might be cold during the winter at 68 degrees.

At Duke, the sustainability office will engage students in energy-saving behavioral changes.

As part of their goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2024, they’ve instituted programs like the “Green Devil Challenge,” which involves labeling appliances with information about their particular energy use.

Staff members will be told to dress appropriately at Elon, and if that doesn’t work, space heaters can be utilized.

Space heaters are banned at Duke University and are among discouraged equipment at UNC-CH.

“Frankly I’m not sure how detrimental they are to the energy use of the building,” Martin sad.

“It almost requires the temperature of the whole building to satisfy that one person,” he said. “It’s kind of a tug of war there. You can draw a hard line and you create a lot of ill will, maybe to not a lot of benefit.”