Conservation Projects

UNCCommitted to Conserve

10kW Solar ArrayUNC has invested in a small 10kw solar array on top of McKee Hall. This was installed fall of 2008. This was a $100,000 installation but Xcel energy rebated 50% of the cost and the Governors Energy Office gave UNC a $10,000 grant. In the last 4 years this system has generated 37,250 kWh of electricity without using any fossil fuels. Check this out at: https://easyview.auroravision.net/easyview/index.html?entityId=232909

Chilled and Filtered Bottle FillersUNC is in the process of changing our drinking fountains on campus to accommodate bottle fillers. These fillers have built-in bottle counters. See how many bottles have been saved from landfills the next time you pass one in your building. 50+ filling stations have been installed on campus and 5 more (at the UC) are on the list.

Automatic Flush Valves By replacing all 250 1 gallon per flush to 1 pint per flush these urinal flush valves save 20,350 gallons of water per day. That is $109.28 per day savings. With a generous rebate from the city of Greeley the valves paid for themselves in just under 3 months.

Controllable Breaker PanelsUNC installed a BAS controlled breaker system at Michener Library in spring of 2009. These control the lighting circuits and turn off the lights in unoccupied conditions. Michener was originally designed without any light controls. Since we are able to shut off the lights now it is projected to save ~ $40,000 annually.

LED Breezeway Lights At Mckee HallUNC is currently installing new breezeway lights at Mckee Hall. These are LED and only use 54 watts compared to the 250 watt lamps that were being used. The savings in energy costs plus rebates from our electric provider and reduced maintenance costs pays for the lights in just over 2½ years and last for 10 years compared to the old style lasting 2 years. Old fixtures cost $5,150 annually. New fixtures cost $1,747.

Induction Lighting Retrofits on Central CampusWe have replaced all the walkway lights on Central Campus with induction type lights. By using this type of system over the high pressure sodium style we cut the energy consumption 65%. This savings plus rebates from our electric provider gave us a 1½ year return on our investment.

Variable Frequency DrivesWe utilize variable frequency drives on most all our pumps and fans on campus. This technology allows us to only use the amount of power need to accomplish the task and backs off on the speed of the motors that is needed. This saves as much as 50% of the power over running the motors at full speed. This also extends the life of the equipment.

Premium Efficiency MotorsUNC uses only premium efficiency motors when replacing old motors and in new construction. In most cases we receive a substantial rebate from Xcel Energy for purchasing these motors. These motors have an average return on investment of two years.

Low Flow Shower HeadsAll shower heads on campus are 2.5 gallon per minute. This saves not only water but also natural gas that heats the water.

Low Flow Faucet AeratorsAll aerators on campus are .5 gallon pre minute. This also saves water and natural gas. Be patient it takes a while to fill a coffee pot.

Low Consumption ToiletsUNC has replaced all the old style high consumption toilets with 1.6 GPF design. The toilet replacements were part of a campus wide performance contract in 2004 and a grant project through the city of Greeley in 2009.

SAVING DRINKING WATERThe University is fortunate to own Water Rights and we utilize raw water from the mountains to water all our sports fields and most of our turf on the west campus. It amounts to about 64 acres total. Not only does it save millions of gallons of valuable drinking water, it also saves the university thousands of dollars each year .

Future ProjectsUNC recently installed 6 solar powered walkway lights in our xeriscapes area. This is a first for us. Keep your eyes open. If they work out you might see more.

Trial Lighting in J-lotUNC have some trial lights on order for J-Lot. We are going to pursue lighting the entire lot with LED lights. Replacing 400 watt MH with 255 watt LED.

For those of you that don’t know, last fall the students introduced the Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund(Student LEAF). One dollar per credit hour is put into this organization to fund environmentally friendly projects on campus.

There first project was to fund a campus wide automated sprinkler system to help us conserve water and have a healthier turf on campus.

Irrigation Central Control System

For the past ten years the University has been building the foundation for an Irrigation system that would be standardized across the entire campus. That foundation consists of the installation of 27 –plus Signature Constellation Controllers.

Why Central Control?• Conserve Water• Labor Savings• Remote Access to Controllers• Weather or ET Control• Web Based Control• Flow Monitoring• Alarms

Xeriscapes at the University of Northern Colorado

The landscape Master plan includes a directive that requires at least 20% of new landscape designs be Xeric (low water –use) in nature. The recent Butler Hancock Addition was awarded LEED Gold, which included low water use landscape plants and drip irrigation systems. Xeric Landscapes compose about 8% of the total landscaped acreage. See the Link: www.unco.edu/facility.landscaping/index.html

TREE CAMPUS USA • In April,2012, the University of Northern

Colorado participated in the Annual Arbor Day Tree Plantings. This Arbor Day observance will be documented in UNC’s formal application in January to the Arbor Day Foundation for Tree Campus USA designation — national recognition that’s the equivalent of Tree City USA status for municipalities. See Link: www.arborday.org/programs/treecampususa

This summer, UNC conducted an inventory of the campus trees . There are 3695 trees for a combined value of $19,605,400. In January UNC was officially named a “Tree Campus USA”.

TREE CAMPUS USAThis is one of our efforts to be a Sustainable University. This program awards national recognition to college campuses promoting healthy urban forest management and engaging the campus community in environmental stewardship

Yard-Waste Recycling at the University of Northern Colorado

Turning this………….. ………Into that

YARD WASTE RECYCLING with A-1 Organics

Since 2008, the University has successfully diverted nearly 3000 cubic yards of waste from Colorado landfills. The end result of our recycling efforts? High quality composts, mulches, and other recycled materials, produced by A-I Organics. These products are available to the landscape industry and Colorado citizens for landscaping and soil amendment purposes. The university also receives a significant discount on its products due to our contribution of raw materials, which include tree & shrub pruning waste, leaves, discarded sod, weeds, branches, grass clippings, and other compostable yard waste.

Green Cleaning Initiatives

UNCCommitted to Conserve

Green Seal Towels and TissueEcoSoft™ Green Seal™ universal towels and tissue are designed for those seeking to achieve green status for their facility and purchase tissue produced with methods less harmful to the environment. It is 100% recycled and exceeds EPA guidelines for post-consumer wastepaper content. Tissue is Green Seal™ certified and contains up to 49% post-consumer wastepaperTowels are Green Seal™ certified and contains up to 73% post-consumer wastepaperMade with de-inking and bleaching processes free of chlorine and other harmful chemicals

Low Moisture Carpet CleaningThe University has implemented a low moisture carpet cleaning program in all state buildings utilizing the SmartCare program by R.E. Whittaker.R.E. Whittaker Company has been an industry leader in the comprehensive planned approach to carpet maintenance for over 25 years, developing the SMART CARE® Program to extend carpet life cycles while being safe for the user, safe for the carpet and safe for the environment. Whittaker's program is based on superior, scientifically-proven interim maintenance using low-moisture CRYSTAL DRY ® encapsulation technology and cylindrical brush pile-lifting agitation.

CAMPUS SURPLUS PROGRAM

The UNC Campus Surplus houses used office furniture that has been discarded from various departments on campus. The surplus is open to the campus community every Wednesday from 10:00-11:30a.m. and moving services will deliver selected furniture anywhere on campus. For more information, contact the Service Center at 351-2446.

Campus Surplus Program

RECYCLING PROGRAM

UNC Recycling Program From the beginning of the Recycling Program in 2002 to the end of 2011, UNC has impacted the environment by saving a total of: 22,396 trees 53,030 barrels of oil 9,222,067 gallons of water 79,046 pounds of air pollution exposure 5,454 cubic yards of landfill space 7,288,812 kWh of electricity 30,246 btu's of energyFor more information please visit: www.unco.edu/facility/Recycling/

Student Leaf Recycling Bin Grant

Student leaf has funded a recycling initiative that will bring 20 outdoor recycling containers to campus. The bins will provide locations for the campus community to recycle cans, bottles and paper and will be placed in high traffic areas across campus.

Conservation tips• - Re-use paper bags when grocery shopping. Doing it 700 times saves one 15-year-old tree. Avoid using plastic

grocery bag, which start out as oil – a non-renewable resource.

• - Compact fluorescent light bulbs lamps produce the same amount of light but use one-fourth the electricity of standard incandescent bulbs.

• - Save $30 or more in energy costs over the life of each compact fluorescent bulb that you use instead of an incandescent bulb.

• - Even a one- or two-minute reduction in showering time can save up to 700 gallons of water per month.

• - Fixing a leaky faucet saves 20 gallons or more of water per day.

• - Turning off the water while brushing your teeth saves three gallons each day.

• - If every American recycled his or her newspaper just one day a week, we would save about 36 million trees a year.

• - The blowing air from ceiling or other fans can make you feel 5 degrees cooler, with or without air conditioning, and fans use a lot less electricity than air conditioners. - Is your refrigerator 10 years old or older? An Energy Star-qualified fridge can save you $30 to $40 a year in electricity costs, offsetting the slightly higher purchase price in no time.

More tips• - Is your refrigerator 10 years old or older? An Energy Star-qualified fridge can save you $30 to $40 a year in

electricity costs, offsetting the slightly higher purchase price in no time.

• - If just one in 10 homes used Energy Star-qualified appliances, the positive effect on the environment would be like planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

• - To save the most energy and money, use energy-efficient lights bulbs in your home’s most-used fixtures - kitchen ceiling lights, living room table and floor lamps, bathroom vanity and outdoor porch lights.

• - Turning off one computer and monitor nightly and on weekends can save up to $80 a year in electricity costs.

• - A 10-degree reduction in your hot water heater’s setting can save up to 5 percent on water heating costs.

• - As an Energy Star partner, UNC has so far changed over 1 million light bulbs on campus to more energy efficient types and converted over 2,000 faucets, shower heads and toilets to low-flow fixtures.

• - UNC will spend more than $4 million to purchase electricity and natural gas this fiscal year.

• - UNC recycles over 300,000 pounds of materials a year, which saves almost 3,000 trees and over 1 million gallons of water.

UNCCommitted to Making a Difference

• Dave Nalley• Utility Systems and Resource Conservation

Manager• Dave.nalley@unco.edu• Please send me any building schedule changes

so we can set any lighting and HVAC accordingly.