9.24 Energy Management Program
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) main campus consists of 29 buildings covering a total floor area of approximately 1.5 million square feet. The UTSA main campus is located in the northwest part of San Antonio. Facilities located in downtown San Antonio include the Institute of Texan Cultures, three auxiliary buildings, and the Downtown Campus, all of which comprise approximately 206,000 square feet. The three auxiliary buildings are part of the UTSA main campus energy report.
The main campus currently consumes the following approximate amounts of energy per year as of 1995. This data changes periodically year to year:
| ELECTRICAL | 25,000,000 KWH |
| NATURAL GAS | 6,200 MCF |
| CHILLED WATER | 9,500,000 TON-HOURS |
| STEAM | 48,000 MMBTU |
The Institute of Texan Cultures currently consumes
the following approximate amounts of energy per
year:
| ELECTRICAL | 2,061,000 KWH |
| CHILLED WATER | 618,500 TON-HOURS |
| STEAM | 1,300 MMBTU |
UTSA obtains electrical and natural gas utilities
from San Antonio's sole utility company, City Public
Service Board. UTSA does not meter these utilities at
individual buildings. Chilled water and steam used for
main campus building cooling and heating are purchased
from an on-site central thermal energy plant owned by
UTSA and operated by a private company under contract
between the Board of Regents of the University of
Texas System and Win-Sam, Inc., while the ITC and
auxiliary buildings purchase chilled water and steam
from San Antonio Water System. The Downtown Campus
buildings will have an on-site thermal energy
plant.
Program Goals and Objectives
The present UTSA main campus and downtown energy reduction primary goal is to reduce cumulative electrical, natural gas, chilled water and steam consumption (on a building square footage basis) by 10% over the next five (5) years. This will be achieved through employment of methods outlined hereinafter. Interim evaluations of the primary goal will be conducted by UTSA Physical Plant engineers as Energy Cost Reduction Measures (ECRM) are initiated. Under the direction of the Physical Plant Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance, the Energy Management Program goals and objectives will be evaluated/modified as necessary through coordination with appropriate Physical Plant personnel.
The overall UTSA master energy management plan is to closely monitor these implemented ECRMs and, based upon their success, apply them to all remaining campus buildings as applicable following individual audits.
Organizational Structure
Energy Management is one of the primary goals of the Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance. As Energy Manager, he is responsible for energy usage and continuously educates appropriate members of department staff in regard to utility system fundamentals and state-of-the-art energy saving techniques.
Contacts regarding the UTSA Energy Management Program are as follows:
Vice President for Business Affairs Associate Vice President for Facilities Operations and Planning Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance Manager, Downtown Facilities
Energy Consumption and Monitoring
The Physical Plant Department maintains all current utility rate schedules. As rates change, the Physical Plant Department will obtain new schedules from the applicable energy-providing company.
Utility bills are reviewed by the Physical Plant Department and verified monthly for accuracy in regard to consumption amounts and charges. Comprehensive records are maintained to allow tracking of energy consumption.
Secondary electrical transformer meter readings (KWH and KW demand) in each campus building are recorded monthly. These logs are maintained in permanent files by the Physical Plant Department.
UTSA main campus chilled water consumption is metered at the Central Energy Plant. Files of these logs are also maintained by the Physical Plant department.
Costs of all energy consumed are monitored continually by the Physical Plant Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance and year-end projections are revised monthly to ensure minimum expenditures consistent with academic requirements dictating building usage.
Energy Audits
Energy audits were conducted on all buildings in 1979 by state-trained auditors.
All UTSA main campus buildings are electronically tied in to the Facilities Control and Monitoring System (FCMS), the campus energy management system, to provide immediate response should any wasteful conditions arise. The Physical Plant Department monitors all HVAC equipment and maintains records on energy conservation and is then monitored daily for optimal energy consumption by the Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance.
ACR Engineering of Austin performed a preliminary on-site walk-through study of the UTSA main campus as part of the Texas LoanSTAR Program in November 1989. Several potential energy conserving measures were identified for in-depth analysis. ACR then performed an analysis of energy consumption of the John Peace Library, Science Building and Humanities-Business Building (now known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Building). These three buildings include a total floor area of approximately 592,000 square feet or about 60% of the total floor area for the UTSA main campus.
The objective of the ACR study was to identify energy conservation opportunities at UTSA and quantify potential energy and cost savings. The report was written in terms of Maintenance and Operations (M&O) procedures and Energy Cost Reduction Measures (ECRM). M&O procedures are activities which should be performed as part of the maintenance activities and generally do not require a substantial capital expenditure. ECRMs are projects which are not part of maintenance staff duties and generally require capital expenditure and financing. Most costs and energy savings are associated with ECRMs.
Final audit results and recommendations for the three major campus buildings were published in ACR's report dated September 1990. UTSA will implement recommended ECRMs if justified by estimated reductions in operating costs.
Capital Outlay Plan
Funding for various energy savings projects will be determined as feasibility studies are completed with a combination of in-house engineering staff and LoanSTAR-sponsored energy consultants.
The Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance will determine priorities for future projects based on a rating system, taking into account project cost, type of project, and payback period.
Energy Education
After hours energy usage by faculty or staff is permitted only if requested in writing by the faculty or staff member through the College Dean or Division Director and approved by the Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance. After hour usage will be approved by the College Dean or Division Director only if the after hours usage is required for education-related purposes and coordinated with the Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance.
Discussions are held regularly with campus individuals and by the Director of Facilities Operation and Maintenance to ensure wide dissemination of information pertaining to energy budgets and utilization.