The Center for Law and Justice at Rutgers University-Newark is one of many Rutgers buildings that will receive new lighting and sensors as part of the Large Energy Users Program.

LED lighting, Reduced-wattage fluorescent lights; Occupancy sensors; Motors for HVAC, vacuum and domestic water supply systems

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is the largest institution of higher education in the state. With more than 1,000 buildings across 27 million square feet, operating the university requires a significant supply of energy.

Recognizing the potential environmental impact from university activities, campus officials have committed to reduce the university’s carbon footprint. Since 2009, Rutgers has reduced carbon emissions from energy and water use as well as solid waste generation by nearly 644 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Energy efficiency has played a major role in helping Rutgers achieve their emission reduction goals. Rutgers officials recently implemented more than 60 energy efficiency projects with financial assistance from New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program™ (NJCEP), resulting in a reduction of more than 4.63 million pounds of carbon emissions.

A building-by-building approach can, however, be difficult for an institution or business the size of Rutgers. Beginning in 2015, officials turned to the more streamlined process offered through the NJCEP Large Energy Users Program.

The Large Energy Users Program’s quick payback period means the university sees a positive cost saving in a short period of time.

Michael Kornitas
Director of Sustainability and Energy

Rutgers, The State University
of New Jersey
57 US Highway 1
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Solution

The NJCEP Large Energy Users Program
is designed to promote investment in
energy-efficiency projects among the state’s
largest commercial and industrial facilities.
As much as $4 million in incentives are
available for eligible entities that provide
annual contributions of $300,000 or more
to the New Jersey Clean Energy Fund
through the Societal Benefits Charge.

To assist in applying for the program,
Rutgers hired an energy-auditing firm to
conduct a lighting analysis on the Camden
and Newark campuses. The analysis
found opportunities to save electricity
by upgrading interior lighting across 16
Project information, savings and buildings with 12,650 reduced-wattage fluorescent and LED fixtures and by installing nearly 850 occupancy sensor controls.

Rutgers also reviewed opportunities
to upgrade motors across a variety
of applications. The assessment recommended upgrading motors larger
than ten horsepower at the Camden,
New Brunswick, Newark and Piscataway
campuses. All together, Rutgers plans to
install 286 new high-efficiency motors on
HVAC, vacuum and domestic water supply
systems across 37 buildings by December
2015. Rutgers officials hope to add variable
frequency drives (VFDs) on select motors as
part of a future project.

“The university is able to strategically plan its energy reduction by targeting specific needs on multiple campuses,” said Michael Kornitas, Director of Sustainability and Energy at Rutgers University. “Instead of replacing the motors in one building, we’re able to upgrade hundreds of new motors, resulting in a substantial reduction of energy that will maximize our carbon footprint reduction.”

NJCEP provided $1,776,051 in incentives to lower the combined cost of installing $1,538,603 in new lighting and motors. Rutgers anticipates the projects will save 5,145,199 kWh, or $595,299 in annual electricity costs. Campus officials estimate the project will pay for itself within 1.04 years when factoring in an additional $49,556 in annual operational and maintenance cost savings.

“The Large Energy Users Program’s quick payback period means the university sees a positive cost saving in a short period of time,” Kornitas said.

By combining energy-efficiency projects across multiple campuses, Rutgers is able to significantly reduce its environmental impact. The lighting and motor upgrades are estimated to eliminate 8,020,112 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent, roughly equal to the annual carbon dioxide emissions produced by 786 passenger vehicles.