Joe Kunkel doesn’t like to use the phrase “energy hog” because of the connotation.
But after working with the menagerie of animals at the College of Veterinary Medicine complex, where he’s been facilities director for almost five years, it’s a moniker he finds difficult to shelve.
“I probably shouldn’t use that because it’s not by our own behaviors that we use a lot of energy out here,” he said. “It’s the buildings we have that are the energy hogs.”
Kunkel is convinced he won’t be throwing around the “H-word” much longer.
That’s because over the next 18 months the Vet Med complex, among the top 10 energy users on campus, will undergo a series of transformations designed to reduce energy use by nearly 40 percent.
“There is this new consciousness of going green,” he said, “and it’s been the direction I’ve been getting from my leadership. They’re really putting an emphasis on it.”
Kunkel said “green” had been on the minds of veterinary managers for some time, but limited funding had held up any comprehensive fixes.
“We recognized some of these wasteful designs,” he said. “We have some tired, worn-out systems, but they weren’t things we could do on our own. You can only put so many Band-Aids on it.”
That changed last year after the UI partnered with Energy Systems Group, an energy service company (or ESCO), that finances utility upgrades with the long-term savings the project is expected to generate.
In Vet Med’s case, the project costs about $22 million and will take less than 18 years to recapture costs from energy savings. About $18 million of the project is being
financed, about $2 million is coming from an approved student-fee contribution, another $750,000 is coming from F&S utilities and energy services and nearly $250,000 is being added by Vet Med.
Over the course of the 18-year payback, carbon emissions will have been cut by 17 million pounds – the equivalent of 1,400 vehicles being taken off the highway annually.
“It’s going to position us well for the next 30 years,” he said.
But before that happens, there’s a lot of work to be done.
“We’re dealing with everything,” said Josh Whitson, a UI engineer specialist with Facilities and Services. “It’s very technically complex, and it’s everything you could possibly hope for in a project.”
Construction started last month and plans call for a mechanical and control systems overhaul, ventilation-system replacement and cleaning, switching out less-than-
efficient lighting and adding new roofing. More specifically, air handlers, fans and coils will be overhauled or replaced along with converting nearly 100 fume hoods, and ventilation and lighting systems will have occupancy sensors added. Energy recovery wheels will be added to the new air handlers and more efficient cooling towers will be installed at the complex as well.
“We’re basically adjusting how the air will be flowing,” he said.
The items were picked and prioritized after a technical audit of the buildings was completed.
“We essentially took the things that would have a relatively quick return and coupled those projects with long-term payback items, such as roof replacement, to achieve the 18-year payback,” Whitson said. “The fume hoods, for example, run all the time and are by far the most energy-demanding pieces of equipment we have on campus. This approach of combining quick-return projects with longer-return projects allows us to address a lot of deferred maintenance items at Vet Med.”
The work is complicated further by the fact that the Vet Med complex has so many different uses, including medical, research and academic space, and must meet separate requirements for each.
Andy Blacker, Facilities and Services customer relations and communications employee, said the there are hopes the ESCO program can expand to all three campuses.
“We are being closely watched by the other campuses,” he said. “It’s a great way to get some of this long-overdue work completed, improve efficiency and save money at the same time. We couldn’t have asked for a better first project.”
Whitson said one of the joys of the ESCO project is that savings are guaranteed by the energy company.
“They will reimburse the difference to us or they’ll fix the deficiency should there be a shortfall in the guaranteed amount,” he said. “We’re pretty confident the numbers will bear out because they have extensive experience dealing with these types of projects.”
Kunkel, meanwhile, is welcoming the upgrades but is worried about the construction zone that will be the Vet Med complex over the next 18 months.
“It will be very disruptive during the construction phase,” he said, “and right now I’m trying to prepare everyone for it. But the changes in behavior and how (Vet Med educators and researchers) will do their work when it’s finished is minimal.”
