Energy Performance Contracts Address Deferred Maintenance continued
Did you do anything different in the selection process for Phase II?
We conducted a similar routine to the one used for Phase I, but we basically managed it all in-house. This was possible, because we had all the parameters and templates created during Phase I.
A major difference was that, based on the general success of the pilot initiative, the General Assembly passed legislation that made performance contracting part of procurement law for our state universities.
Energy Masters was vying for this second contract. They had done a great job in Phase I, but Honeywell had a more aggressive proposal and was selected by the committee.
What were some components of this second performance contract?
Of particular interest was water conservation. Charleston’s water rates are relatively high. At the time we were paying almost $6 per thousand gallons. And regular increases were scheduled in the future.
When Honeywell came on board, we mentioned the potential for savings on water. So this was a core ECM in the proposal. The performance contract called for changing out all the toilets, installing faucet aerators, and replacing all washing machines with water- and energy-efficient models. Honeywell also replaced the showerheads with even lower flow models than those we had previously installed.
Another major area of Phase II was to go further with lighting. We installed about 18,000 energy efficient lighting upgrades, including T8s with electronic ballasts and compact fluorescent lamps. We also retrofit exit signs with LEDs.
A significant scope of the project was replacement of several 30-year-old single-effect steam absorption chillers. Honeywell replaced these inefficient units with five electric centrifugal chillers. It also installed a major section of chilled water loop in the south part of the campus allowing chilled water to be distributed between several buildings for optimal use of available capacity. The loop addition allowed us to retire three steam absorbers after installing one large electric driven centrifugal unit. This loop does a tremendous job of distributing cooling capacity.
The base Phase II guaranteed performance project all-in cost was about $10.8 million with guaranteed annual savings of nearly $1.2 million over 10 years. The base scope of improvements was installed over a two-year period from 2001 to 2003.
In 2003, EIU entered into another performance contract with Honeywell. What initiatives are contained?
This latest contract work is just an enhancement of Phase II. We had discussed some of the elements when planning Phase II but did not fully develop the concepts.
We replaced an additional steam absorption unit with an electric centrifugal. This not only saves energy, but will allow us to defer the replacement of a chiller in a neighboring building. We also completed additional lighting upgrades.
At the same time we began Phase II, EIU had upgraded the campus data network. This gave us the opportunity to consider automatic control of our entire chiller capacity that was now linked via the chilled water loops. Until then, we were manually controlling the distributed chiller plants based solely upon loop temperature and human judgement.
Another ECM considered was optimized make up air control as a function of the carbon dioxide level of the exhaust air from the building to minimize the ventilation air requirements. Previously, a fixed minimum position was held on the outside air damper. This introduced an excessive amount of untreated air that we didn’t need for ventilation.
The total all-in cost of these Phase II enhancements to the base 10-year contract is an additional $2.6 million with annual guaranteed savings of $295,142. We completed the last enhancement in June 2005.
What advice would you give to facility managers considering energy performance contracts?
Number one, an organization needs a champion for this effort who can interface with the administration. You also need a receptive and supportive administration.
Gather a team. Access good technical support, and be very mindful when developing the RFQs. Take time to select the right vendor. Make sure to detail your expectations. Make allowances within the project scope for a construction manager paid from project savings and selected by you.
Be mindful of measurement and verification. Get technical help on how to demonstrate the installed performance level of the ECMs. Some ECMs require modeling of performance, because there may not be a way to measure before and after energy differences directly. This requires a close watch and rerunning of the model periodically.
Further, the facility needs to do its part on the maintenance side to sustain the ECMs, since performance can be lost very quickly without proper care. I suggest that those involved ensure the maintenance staff has the resources to handle sustaining the ECMs.
Facility managers have to know the limitations of their staff. One of the things we did was embed in the contract an annual training allowance for the maintenance staff. This is provided from the ECM savings through the life of the contract.
What has been the reaction to these projects inside the campus?
I think the success is highly appreciated. I believe in these tough economic times in Illinois, accomplishing $16.8 million in improvements by leveraging resources that would otherwise be flowing to utility providers is noteworthy.
The students appreciate this too. One of the things I did with the training allowance was to hire a student to look for small pockets of opportunity to save energy dollars. The students are aware of what they’re going to be inheriting, and I believe they’re happy to see we’re diligent stewards of resources at Eastern.
How has the community responded?
In general, I think Charleston feels part of the success. When the university saves dollars, ratepayers and taxpayers benefit in the long run. With the recent devastation along the Gulf Coast and the instability of world energy markets, I’m happy to say we’re in pretty good shape.
Questions about this project can be sent to Gary Reed at csgdr@ux1.cts.eiu.edu.
To share your Green Solutions, send an e-mail to avazquez@groupc.com.
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