The center for medicine, nursing, and health sciences at Quinnipiac University’s North Haven campus
Hamden, CT – Quinnipiac University recently completed an extensive initiative on the North Haven campus, reconstructing four outdated corporate office buildings into the state-of-the-art center for medicine, nursing and health sciences, and school of law center.
The university worked with The United Illuminating Company, an administrator of Energize Connecticut programs, from the earliest stages of the projects, ensuring prescriptive and custom energy-efficiency measures were initiated. In addition to helping the university secure approximately $87,000 in financial assistance through the Energy Efficiency Fund, the New Haven utility also provided strategic guidance and technical insight.
The building redesign emphasized energy efficiency throughout. Lighting was upgraded to high-efficiency CFL and LED lights, and motion and sound sensors were installed to control lighting usage in unoccupied spaces. The heating and cooling systems were updated with new drives, fans, and pumps, and a new supplementary 10-ton chiller was added —all resulting in an estimated $61,700 cost savings annually. The medical center also utilized windows with energy-saving thermal glazing and used low-VOC paint and carpeting.
Sustainable energy endeavors at the York Hill Campus, including 721 roof-top solar panels which generate nearly 250,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually, earned Quinnipiac University a spot on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership Top 20 Colleges & Universities.
“Quinnipiac is continually looking for ways to improve our efficiency and conserve environmental resources,” said Keith Woodward, associate vice president for facilities operations at Quinnipiac University.
In addition to comprehensive recycling programs and filtered water stations across its three campuses, the university boasts a community garden, seasonal farmer’s markets, and annual Earth Day celebrations, all promoting sustainable practices and greener living.
To engage students further, an online building energy dashboard is available to track electricity, heating, and cooling energy usage in real-time. The university’s facility staff monitors the data to track trends for energy inefficiencies in all campus buildings.
“Quinnipiac University’s success in utilizing Energize Connecticut programs to chart its own path to sustainability provides an ideal footprint for others to follow,” said Roy W. Haller, director of commercial and industrial energy service programs at The United Illuminating Company.
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Colleges and universities are at the forefront of energy efficiency and conservation, representing one of the fastest growing sectors within the sustainable movement. Campuses across the country are utilizing energy-saving technologies and environmentally friendly principles to reap significant reductions in operating costs while creating healthier learning environments.
An early innovator, Quinnipiac University has been committed to sustainable growth, engineering efficiencies and conservation efforts into all campus projects since 2004.
Many educational institutions are committed to energy efficiency goals or seek to expand their programs but don’t have the in-house resources or expertise to engineer and execute efforts. Energize Connecticut’s five-step sustainability frame-work and corresponding portfolio of programs is available to assist campuses in making those visions a reality. Institutions and businesses can turn to their utility provider for assistance in utilizing Energize Connecticut programs, from practical how-to guidance for implementing energy-efficiency measures to calculating real-time benefits of integrating sustainability efforts.
