Key UCM upgrades
- Energy-efficient HVAC systems and geothermal heating/cooling
- Energy-efficient lighting
- Improved indoor air quality and air handling systems
- Classroom and office acoustical improvements
- Campus building automation and life safety systems
- "Green" touch screens to educate students and community on UCM sustainability initiatives
- New roofs and windows on selected buildings
In the spring of 2009, the University of Central
Missouri (UCM) embarked on a $36.1 million energy savings contract (ESCO) with Trane. The
ESCO addressed $20 million in needed but deferred maintenance, and $16.1 million in
energy efficient upgrades on the campus. Construction was scheduled to last through the
spring of 2011, but the project will be completed in the fall of 2010, six months ahead
of schedule. By June of 2010, 100 percent of the lighting retrofits were complete and the
geothermal heating/cooling system was fully operational. These projects have already
generated $500,000 in energy and operating cost savings before project completion.
The University of Central Missouri campus was
facing approximately $20 million in priority deferred maintenance costs--with only an
annual budget of $2 million available. “Some of the equipment and facilities on campus hadn’t
been touched in anywhere from twenty to eighty years,” said Dr. Betty Roberts, UCM Vice
President for Administration and Finance. “Some of the equipment was so old we were
forced to stockpile spare parts. We had a ten-year plan, but with only $2 million annually
we could never catch up. Complaints from students and faculty were rampant!
“We started talking to various ESCOs (energy service companies) about our problems, but
their solutions were what I called ’bleeding edge’--not ’leading edge.’”
“We were spending so much money on reactive emergency projects--a generator went out or a
boiler went out--and I began to assess how much cost, how much labor was being put into
those efforts. We had not received any funding from the state for capital appropriations in at
least ten years. So it was: how do I make a change for the benefit of the institution--the
students, the faculty, the staff--and create a positive learning environment with no money?”
No less important to UCM’s goals is the fact that a 2008 Princeton Review survey showed
that 63 percent of college applicants are looking for a green campus. And, according to the
"Greening America’s Schools" report, test scores improve by as much as five percent among
students in a high performance classroom.
Dr. Roberts adds, “I realized that the status quo
would simply perpetuate the issues. Then I was introduced to Chad Remboldt, Education
Consultant at Trane in Kansas City. He started talking about our issues, instead of ongoing
repairs.”
In addition to student and faculty complaints, impetus for a campus-wide systems upgrade
came from the fact that UCM was a signatory to the American College and University Presidents
Climate Commitment. With that and the support of the UCM President and the Board of
Governors, plus organizations like Second Nature and the Clinton Climate Initiative, and a
Missouri State statute that allowed UCM to initiate an ESCO performance contract project,
Dr. Roberts began the effort to upgrade the campus. The supplier selection process was
open to Missouri State prequalified ESCOs to submit a proposal.
Trane representatives inspected every building and system on campus to develop a solid,
all-encompassing proposal for UCM. The Trane proposal included:
- Installation of 150 geothermal wells for high-efficiency heating and cooling of three
main buildings on the UCM campus.
- Energy conservation measures including new windows and roofs on some buildings
- Installation of high-efficiency lighting throughout the campus
- Replaced the outdated, unsightly power plant and boiler system with a green, sustainable
geothermal heat pump system
- Improved air handling systems and acoustical improvements
- Laboratory air systems and controls
- Life safety measures
- A campus-wide building automation system to effectively manage energy use
An innovative feature of the Trane package includes “green screens” throughout the
campus to educate the faculty, students and the community on the University’s sustainability
initiatives--and learn what they can do to make a difference and get involved in efforts toward
becoming a carbon-neutral campus.
Dr. Roberts said of the decision to select Trane as the ESCO, “Trane went the extra mile and
truly evaluated all of the opportunities. Their proposal was one of the most thorough
responses I’ve ever seen. But I knew that the project would be challenged and so we had
three outside engineering firms study and validate the Trane proposal."
Dr. Roberts also submitted the proposal for an investment grade audit. UCM now has a
sustainable, high performance campus and will see $735,000 in annualized consumption
savings, $848,000 in operating and maintenance savings, and $1.5 million in
avoided annual capital improvements. Dr. Roberts said, “This project has more than
exceeded my expectations. Trane brought together phenomenal subcontractors who were
very accommodating and worked around classes and campus events. Even when there were
issues outside the scope of the performance contract, those were addressed. I recently took
the Board of Governors for a tour of the campus and I must say there was very much a sense of
happiness over the results of this project. It is very easy to see where the money went. We’re
very happy!”
Trane is providing a fifteen-year select maintenance agreement for the heat pumps
that includes seasonal inspections and maintenance to ensure proper, efficient
operation and covers parts and labor for repairs to maintainable components over the life of the
performance contract. A Trane controls service agreement includes monthly system reports to
UCM, semi-monthly system reviews, remote inspections and diagnostics, software updates
and staff training. UCM operators will regularly interact with Trane automation specialists for
continued controls proficiency training. UCM has the option to continue this service after the
first year of operation.
Along with the green upgrades, UCM students and faculty made Earth Day 2010 a week-long
celebration. Events with the theme "Change your behavior, change our world!" included
establishing a nature trail and removing a pile of debris and trash from the surrounding areas. Dr.
John Hess, UCM professor emeritus of biology and earth science, delivered a speech and led a
discussion titled, "It’s All Around Us." Other events included the "Haute Trash Fashion
Show," where students, faculty and staff modeled clothing made of recycled materials,
plus lectures, films, a green luncheon and a keynote address by actor and environmental
activist Ed Begley, Jr. Dr. Steven Boone, UCM interim Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities
and Social Sciences and chair of the Earth Day planning committee, said, "Trane’s commitment
to education and green initiatives has been above and beyond what we could have
expected, and we sincerely appreciate them for all they have done and will continue to do."
The University of Central Missouri offers 150 study programs on a
beautiful campus serving more than 11,000 graduate and undergraduate students from forty states and more than fifty
countries. Founded as a teacher’s college in 1871, UCM has maintained a commitment to excellent teaching. UCM has 437
full-time faculty members, 68 percent with a PhD or other terminal degree. The student-to-faculty ratio is 17:1 and the average
undergraduate class has twenty-two students. UCM’s six-month job placement rate for undergrads is 94 percent. Graduating students
also benefit from one of the lowest student debt ratios in the state.