Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Energy Special

ACU residence halls account for about 1,200 students, which is about onefourth of the student body. Within this group, great amounts of on-campus energy are used. This constitutes a large part of a problem of the high quantity of on-campus consumption.

A task force led by Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, has taken an initiative to raise awareness of energy usage and to push for greater conservation and sustainability.

Earlier this semester, seven residence halls participated in ACU Unplugged, a 12-day competition that challenged students to lower their energy usage. Barret and Smith Adams Halls did not participate because they are metered differently than the other residence halls.

Mabee Hall won the contest with an 18 percent increase in conservation from fall 2007, when they had the second highest measure of energy usage. The total energy saved during the competition was 7,489 kilowatts, which according to the results is enough electricity to light ACU's Elmer Gray Stadium for 28 hours, power 1,000 desktop computers for a day, or light a 75-watt bulb for an hour for each resident of Abilene.

On the other hand, Morris Hall had the lowest performance in ACU Unplugged with 34 percent more energy used compared to fall 2007. McKinzie Hall was the only other residence hall to use more energy with a four percent increase.

Jim Cooke, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences, said an increase in energy usage could be a result of a mere lack of incentive. Residence halls do not motivate students financially to conserve because all rooms cost the same amount regardless of how much energy a student uses.

"There is no incentive beyond from a responsibility standpoint [to save energy]," Cooke said. "We are relying on people's understanding or goodwill, but that is probably not the most effective incentive."

ACU Unplugged was used to help students realize how much energy they are using, Cooke said. "[We were trying] to see if we are making progress, using less energy and being less wasteful," he said. "If you lived off campus and were paying your own bills, you would be more aware of the fact that if you use less, it costs you less. On campus, if you leave everything going all the time, you still pay the same price."

Heating and cooling uses the most energy, Cooke said. Lighting is the next biggest contributor. Unlike most heating and cooling though, lighting is a human habit that Cooke said could be easily reduced.

"We can be a lot more efficient by not assuming lights have to be turned on all the time," he said. "But people are not going to be comfortable in rooms that are 60 degrees in the winter and 80 in the summer."

All residence halls are centrally heated and cooled except for Morris Hall.

Student practices and habits are not the only factors that contribute to each residence hall's overall energy usage. Building size, age, insulation, window glazing (whether they are single or double panes), sealing and cocking around doors and windows and other openings, in addition to how new the heating and air conditioning units are, all play a significant part.

While most residence halls have undergone renovation since their construction, the size and age of each building makes a difference on its energy usage, particularly concerning the number of rooms needing electricity, heating and air conditioning and the efficiency of its heating and cooling units.

The oldest and largest residence hall is McKinzie Hall; it was built in 1947 and is 70,200 square feet. Mabee Hall was built in 1953 with 61,900 square feet. The 68,150-square foot Nelson Hall and the 62,730-square foot Edwards Hall were built two years later. Gardner Hall was constructed in 1961 with 62,100 square feet. The smallest residence hall, Morris Hall, was built in 1975 with 24,150 square feet. Sikes Hall was built in 1977 with 52,050 square feet, and Smith Adams Hall was built two years later with 61,160 square feet. The newest building, Barret Hall, was constructed in 2005 with more than 43,000 square feet.

Though it was not a competitor in ACU Unplugged, Cooke said he expects Barret could have won based on how new the building is. With new energy-efficient washers and dryers, new insulation and sealings and other eco-friendly features, Barret is one of the "greenest" buildings on campus.

The university is attempting, when finances allow, to construct buildings on campus, according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. The LEED Green Rating System is nationally recognized as the forefront evaluator of green construction and design.

Constructing buildings that are LEED approved can be costly, but doing so can save much money in the long run by saving large costs that would be paid in energy bills. Some universities are looking to performance contracts to aid in LEED construction. These contracts tell a school the approximate number of years it will take to pay the equipment off based on current costs and usage. Basically, if a school upgrades its equipment, after a specified number of years, typically five to 10, it will have saved enough energy to make up for what was spent on upgrades. If more energy is conserved, the payback will be quicker. However, the downside is, if the price of the equipment goes up, it will take longer.

While Barret is up to LEED standards, most of the older buildings on campus are not. Cooke said it is only a matter of finances that is keeping all buildings from being LEED approved.

The task force is attempting to alleviate some of the financial stress behind becoming more energy efficient. Money appointed the task force to help the ACU community become better stewards of their money. The group constantly evaluates things that can be implemented to reduce their environmental "footprint." They are working on a project regarding energy emissions inventory in which their goal is to see what the campus footprint is by using an instrument, provided by the Clean Air, Cool Planet company, that has been used by other colleges across the country. Once this data is obtained, the task force will determine whether the programs the university has in place are saving or wasting energy.

"We are in the beginning stages of this, but we are trying to have a baseline to judge our improvements against to see if we are doing better," Cooke said. "There is a commitment by the university and President Money's office to ’Ķ being better stewards of the gifts God has given us."

The task force expects to generate a footprint report this summer. From there, they will determine specific plans for the university's consumption. Then, they will work to implement those plans. Cooke hopes to run these evaluations on a regular basis, possibly in threeyear intervals, he said.

"It's not how much we use but how much we waste; it's not how much we buy but how much we throw away," Cooke said. "We are trying to encourage people to do a better job managing all the resources we have available to us."

However, energy use in residence halls is just one piece of the puzzle; finances are another. The list of contributing factors ranges from these to recycling and using Fair Trade. Sustainability is a complex practice, but Cooke said it is our responsibility.

"We consume and purchase a lot of things; if we have the idea of sustainability in consumption, it will conserve the amount we use," Cooke said. "It is a cultural, campus-wide effort. It is part of who we are as a Christian university. The way we honor God is the way we treat the creation he has given us."

In agreement, ACU Unplugged leader Beth McElwain said buildings do not effect energy consumption nearly as much as human effort does.

"It's really the students response, not really the way the way the building is built," McElwain, senior elementary education major from Farmersville. "It's really the power of the students. They can make a visible difference by doing a couple different things."

Some tips McElwain has for students looking to conserve energy include:
* Turn lights, electronics and appliances off when they are not needed.
* Use space heaters and fans for greater heating and cooling efficiency, rather than looking to central heating and air conditioning.
* Use less water while showering and turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
* Ride a bike, or walk instead of driving. If you must drive, carpool.
* Recycle. Burning trash takes more energy than turning a used item into something else.

"The biggest thing is just for people to be aware to the things they do or don't do," McElwain said. "That realization is very empowering. [In ACU Unplugged,] even a small amount made a big difference."


E-mail Edens at: mxe06a@acu.edu