Rutgers University Electrical Energy Monitoring
The issue being examined is Rutgers University over consumption of
electrical energy. Various buildings from dormitories to labs often use up a
lot more energy than is necessary. Our project is to reduce our universities
energy consumption to not only save money but also reduce our carbon
emissions by monitoring our electrical usage and educating others on ways
to save energy.
Tag Words: Energy, Conservation, Rutgers, Costs, Savings, Monitoring
Authors: Ray Buckley, Anton Woronczuk, Matt Zebrowski and Julie M. Fagan, Ph.D.
Summary
Rutgers University over consumes electrical energy, mainly from our lack of knowledge
on the subject of energy waste. Various buildings from residence halls to labs often use
more energy then are necessary. This is in large part due to electronics being plugged into
outlets indefinitely or left on when not in use. Our project is to help reduce electrical
output therefore saving Rutgers money which could be used towards other needs. The
project is setup to have intern students monitor various labs and residence halls as well as
educate others on energy waste. Also, a contest between the residence halls could be
established to reduce their electrical consumption. The residence hall that reduces its
electrical consumption could be awarded a prize for their effort. These are some ways in
which Rutgers could lower their electrical consumption and reach their carbon emissions
goal.
The Issue: Energy Waste
Energy consumption has been on the rise in the United States since the industrial
revolution. Currently the state of New Jersey ranks 18th in total electrical energy
consumption in the United States using 72,339,000,000 Kilowatt hours a year
(Statemaster.com). The problem is not that we use energy but how we produce and use
energy resources.
Energy is mostly created today by the combustion of fossil fuels and nuclear
reactors; with these energy sources come problems, involving environmental impacts as
well as social and sustainability problems. Fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal
account for 90% of primary energy supply in the world (Bedi et al).
It is in our best interest to use these non-renewable resources wisely; with a
growing population comes a growing need for energy consumption. Besides investing in
renewable resources we can also evaluate and make the consumption of our current
habits more efficient. It is hard to measure the total amount of energy that is wasted
throughout the year but the average American produces about 40,000 lbs of CO2
emissions annually. Americans all together use nearly a million dollars worth of energy
every minute. By using energy more wisely we can reduce our C02 emissions and save
money (PowerScorecard). Easy steps such as turning off and unplugging electrical
appliances can save electricity and money for the future.
The Service Project: Proposal
Proposal Title: Monitoring System for Reducing Wasteful Use of Electricity in
Laboratories and Residence Halls
Total number of pages (not counting cover pages): 8
Summary of the proposal:
The University spends a significant amount of its operating costs on energy consumption.
Our plan is to implement a monitoring program in laboratories and residence halls
campus-wide for the purpose of reducing wasteful energy consumption. Data collection
would occur over the course of a few months and would be presented to the university.
This data could be used to evaluate the need to remove, update, or change the use of
laboratory equipment. A semester-long competition between residences halls to promote
reduction of energy use is also suggested. We conclude that implementation of this
monitoring system would result in massive reductions in electrical costs and help guide
the University towards carbon emissions reduction targets.
Analysis of Cost and Energy Savings
The amount of energy wasted by residence halls and laboratories is currently unknown
due to lack of monitoring and meter systems. However, it is known that residence halls
and laboratories on campus use electronics and equipment that are continuously idling
while consuming energy. We suggest that a potential 25% reduction in energy costs by
implementing a monitoring system is a conservative figure. This 25% would easily make
up for the cost of implementing this program. Costs would include metering equipment,
installment of metering systems, and wages for monitoring teams/interns.
Rutgers is currently paying for 2.1 million kWh/year used by the residential halls on the
Cook/Douglas campus alone. A 10% reduction would save Rutgers 210,000 kWh/year; a
25% reduction would save 525,000 kWh/year (This is enough energy for more than 47
American households for an entire year). Eduardo R. Martin, who is the Water Treatment
Engineer in the department of utilities operations, provided this data. Data is given in the
appendix, labeled as Cook/Douglas Dormitories Electricity Consumption. Considering
the amount of high-powered technology running in laboratories, we can only estimate
that the laboratories use several times more energy per year. The lack of individual
meters for other buildings leaves great uncertainty as to how much energy is consumed
by the laboratories.
Timeline for Implementation
The initial goal is to reduce the amount of energy that is being used on Cook Campus.
With the implementation of this plan, Cook Campus could be used as a trial run to
observe the monitoring system’s effectiveness. The monitoring system could potentially
be implemented across the University. President McCormick could direct lab supervisors
and residential hall managers to schedule and prepare for monitoring dates.
It is possible to implement this system immediately. An internship program could hire
students to carry out monitoring for the length of the summer or the duration of a year.
Interns would gain experience in evaluating energy use in buildings and gain a
background in green inspection. Teams of students (pairs) would travel from laboratory
to laboratory and fill out the Energy Usage Checklist (see Appendix). Prior to inspection,
the inspectors would communicate with the lab supervisor, requesting him/her to collect
relevant information about their lab inventory, including model names, model numbers,
and the general purpose of the equipment. An inspection date would be confirmed. We
anticipate an inspection to take no more than 3 hours. 2-3 inspections could occur a day.
If lab supervisors are contacted early and a schedule is arranged prior to July 2010, we
anticipate inspection of all laboratories to be completed before Fall 2010. Students would
need this time to collect data room by room in the buildings and to analyze and tabulate
the data with a report of the findings to be presented to the Rutgers Energy Institute.
Installing meter systems for all buildings would necessitate collecting relevant data on
infrastructure, what equipment is already in place and what is needed, cost-benefit
analysis, and prioritizing installation. Considering the financial and technical analysis
needed, this is estimated to take 2 years.
Proposal Implementation Suggestions
One author of this proposal has noticed printers left on indefinitely for months on end
while they are disconnected from the computers. Other high-power devices, like mass
spectrometers, are often left in standby mode indefinitely. Laboratory equipment
consumes heavy amounts of electricity. Many laboratory instruments are left on
indefinitely whether or not they are used regularly. More energy efficient models could
replace outdated instrumentation. Currently, no plan has been implemented to monitor
use of the electricity in individual labs or in the buildings across campus. The potential
electrical savings are enormous. Considerable savings to the University could be
achieved by implementing a rigorous campus-wide monitoring system proposed here.
The potential for success of this system could carry over to energy monitoring for
computer labs and building campus-wide.
During an evaluation, students could use relatively inexpensive equipment, such as the P3
International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitors, The Energy Detective
(TED), or the Wattson electricity monitor, to measure the energy use of each individual
piece of equipment and total electricity used by buildings. The Wattson is a portable
device that connects to wires running between a meter and a fuse box. The TED
monitoring system provides software to dynamically record and compile the energy use
of an entire building. The Kill A Watt Monitor can measure power in kWh used by
individual devices. Together, these devices would be the foundation for an inspector
toolbox and monitoring system. Regular evaluation of energy use can allow for
continuous improvement and modification of the monitoring program.
Total daily energy use could be estimated by questioning the lab researchers or
lab supervisors about the average use of specific laboratory equipment. The information
gathered could be given to an independent source to review and provide feedback on
what should be done with the equipment regarding replacement or repair. One such
company that provides buying and selling information on laboratory equipment is called
Scientific Asset Management (contact information provided in the appendix).
The following 16 buildings on Douglas/Cook campus are proposed for
immediate inspection: Acarology Laboratory, McLean Research Lab/Agricultural
Chemistry Building, Center for Vector Biology, Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences,
NJEAS Research Greenhouses, Nabisco Center for Advanced Food Technology, Food
Science Building, Foran Hall, Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences Building,
Endocrine Research Facility, Livestock Research & Teaching Facility, Avian Research
Building, Plant Physiology Building, Bartlett Hall, Heldrich Science Building & Annex,
and the Biological Sciences Building.
A similar plan could be implemented in the residential halls. We propose
establishing a campus-wide contest similar to Recyclemania. Evaluation of baseline
energy use would occur a couple weeks into a new semester. The competition could
entail awarding special designations/prizes to dormitories or residence halls that lower
their energy by the greatest percentage from baseline. This program could be modeled
off thinkMTV's Break the Addiction competition, but exclusive to the Rutgers campus.
Instituting this program could help Rutgers reach its goal for reducing CO2 emissions by
2% below 1990 levels by 2020. Suggestions such as turning off lights when not in use,
unplugging electrical devices before going to sleep, and reducing hot water consumption
would be made in order to give students a general idea of energy-reducing activities.
This information could be transmitted via email to all on-campus residents. By
introducing residence hall monitoring in addition to laboratory monitoring, we predict
significant savings in energy costs and carbon emissions. Instituting a monitoring
program to reduce wasting electricity would also help further Rutgers' goal to create a
more ecologically responsible university.
In order to make this plan completely viable, we will need to implement meters in
all buildings. Interns could then calculate specific reductions in energy after monitoring
is completed and recommendations would be sent to individuals to update equipment,
reduce machine idling time, and remove unused equipment. We propose that the
University seek a grant through their energy provider to introduce electrical meters into
every high-energy use building, especially those that contain laboratories.
Appendices
Laboratory Energy Usage Checklist
(All data to be collected by inspection team)
Team inspection members:
_____________________________
_____________________________
Laboratory Information:
Building in which lab is located:
Laboratory Floor/Room Number:
Date of Inspection:
________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Professor/Research who supervises the lab: ___________________________
Telephone number: _______________________
Email address: ___________________________
Date of last inspection: _____________________
Does the building have an electrical meter?
Yes
Equipment inventory
Name of equipment: _____________________
Model Number:
_____________________
Manufacturer:
_____________________
Type of equipment: Storage
Analysis
Computer
Other
Frequency of use:
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Never
Age of equipment:
__________________
Power usage (kW):
__________________
Was this equipment in use at time of monitoring?
Yes
Was this equipment online at time of monitoring?
Yes
Is this piece of equipment left online indefinitely?
Yes
Name of equipment:
_____________________
Model Number:
_____________________
Manufacturer:
_____________________
Type of equipment:
Storage
Analysis
Computer
Safety
Other
Frequency of use:
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Never
Age of equipment:
__________________
Power usage (kW):
__________________
Was this equipment in use at time of monitoring?
Yes
Was this equipment online at time of monitoring?
Yes
Is this piece of equipment left online indefinitely?
Yes
No
Safety
Yearly
No
No
No
Yearly
No
No
No
Residence Hall Competition Checklist
How many lights are on concurrently? _________
(Try to use natural light when possible or turn off lights when no one is using the light
source)
How many electrical devices can be unplugged before going to bed? ________
(Make it a habit to unplug all electrical devices before going to sleep; standby still uses
energy!)
How long is your average shower? ________
(See if you can reduce this time by 5 minutes)
o Replace lightbulbs with CFLs-CFLs can save up to 50% on your lighting costs. They
also use 1/4 of the energy compared to incandescent lightbulbs and last 10 times longer
o Turn off lights when leaving a room
o Use natural light when possible
o Unplug electrical devices that are not being used as they still consume energy (e.g.
cellphone chargers, coffee makers, printers)
o Turn off computers and copy machines at the end of the day
o Take showers with less hot water or take shorter showers
o Use bikes, carpool, or mass transit when traveling
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/services/energy_aware_oec.html
Cook/Douglas Dormitories Electricity Consumption
Perry Dorms
Nicholas & Woodbury Dorms
# of days Usage, kWh kWh/day
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
31
29
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31
18,400
20,000
19,400
20,600
15,200
13,800
15,200
16,000
21,200
22,400
22,200
16,000
220,400
594
690
626
687
490
460
490
516
707
723
740
516
Gibbons Dorms, (#8408 - #8415)
# of days Usage, kWh kWh/day
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
31
29
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31
75,600
77,000
81,000
77,000
53,400
42,200
44,200
51,200
74,200
83,400
86,000
86,000
2,439
2,655
2,613
2,567
1,723
1,407
1,426
1,652
2,473
2,690
2,867
2,774
831,200
Total kwH/year
2,059,740
34,240
35,520
40,000
34,240
25,600
21,440
24,160
23,840
36,000
45,120
31,200
34,880
386,240
1,105
1,225
1,290
1,141
826
715
779
769
1,200
1,455
1,040
1,125
Lippincott & Katzenback Dorms
# of days Usage, kWh kWh/day
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
31
29
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31
# of days Usage, kWh kWh/day
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
31
29
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31
52,800
50,700
61,800
59,100
45,600
35,400
33,300
38,100
64,200
66,600
61,200
53,100
621,900
1,703
1,748
1,994
1,970
1,471
1,180
1,074
1,229
2,140
2,148
2,040
1,713
References
Bedi, Emil, CANCEE, and Falk, Hakan. “Energy Saving Now”. Energy Saving Now. 11
April 2010. <http://energysavingnow.com/energytoday/consumption.shtml>.
“Energy Statistics”. Statemeaster. 11 April 2010.
< http://www.statemaster.com/graph/ene_tot_ele_con-energy-total-electricityconsumption >.
“Twenty Things You Can Do to Conserve Energy”. PowerScorecard. 10 April 2010. <
http://www.powerscorecard.org/reduce_energy.cfm>.
Editorials
Conserving Energy
A way to reduce energy waste at Rutgers University
By Matthew Zebrowski
Sent to: Daily Targum
With two other Rutgers University students and Julie Fagan, a professor at
Rutgers University we have developed a way to reduce energy waste on the Cook
Campus of Rutgers University. The project was formulated to meet the needs for the
Rutgers Energy Institute contest which is to develop ways to reduce carbon emissions.
Our project involves the monitoring of energy consumption in dormitories and labs. By
monitoring electrical consumption we have formulated ways to reduce our electrical
usage and therefore save the university money which could go to other uses.
Rutgers University like many institutions uses an abundant amount of electrical
energy so it would be ideal to try to examine ways to reduce its usage. Upon further
evaluation and observation my colleagues and I realized that a lot of electrical appliances
were indefinitely plugged in or were on when not in use.
The two main places we were going to focus our project on were dormitories and
laboratories on Cook Campus. Lab equipment uses a lot of energy and is often left idle
for long periods of time and dormitories are home to college students who are for the
most part unaware or un-phased by their energy consumption.
Our project involves having intern students monitor and educate people in their
consumption of electrical energy. In order to do this, Rutgers would have to install meter
systems in all buildings. Currently metering systems are only in some of them. Once
metering systems are installed monitoring of electrical consumption can take place and
reductions can be observed. A 25% reduction in energy costs is not out of the question.
The money saved from this could go towards other uses which could better the
university.
Our interns would get experience in analyzing energy consumption and gain
background green inspection. They would be responsible in checking labs using P3
International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitors, The Energy Detective
(TED), or the Wattson electricity monitor, to measure the energy use of each individual
piece of equipment and total electricity used by buildings. The equipment is relatively
cheap and once upon this can help formulate ways to reduce this.
Education is the key. Most people are unaware of their electrical consumption and
its waste. Our interns would educate students and educators in electrical waste and ways
of reducing it by unplugging or leaving off electrical equipment that is not in use.
Through this effort, we believe that we would help reduce Rutgers Universities’
costs on electrical energy, help reduce carbon emissions, and as a result save the
University money which could go to better uses.
________________________________________________________________________
Raymond Buckley
Ethics in Science
Reducing Rutgers Carbon Footprint With Student Interns
Sent to: Express Times
Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ has approximately 50,000 students
attending per year. A good percentage of these students are currently living in on campus
housing whether it is in freshman dorms or in on campus apartments. The issue at hand
that is occurring all over the U.S. is reducing electricity usage while ultimately reduces
your carbon footprint. One of the problems at Rutgers University is the lack of metering
systems to monitor the electrical usage in these residence halls. Many of the buildings
are wired to a central meter that shows the total electrical usage of multiple buildings at
one time. Rutgers University plans on making its New Brunswick campus carbon neutral
by 2030 but without accurate monitoring systems it will be hard to tell where their focus
should be. An easy solution to this problem would be to put metering systems on each
individual building. The problem with this and with any institution is cost. However, the
money that will be saved after being able to pinpoint inefficiencies will make up for the
cost of implementing these systems. The freshman residence halls on just one part of a
campus at Rutgers used and paid for 2.1 million kWh/year in 2008.
One plan that could be used is to have students to track energy usage. Buildings
that are suspected of using high amounts of electricity could be “audited” by students
who would get experience about implementing green solutions. This could work by
starting an internship program. The interns would then be equipped with handheld
electrical meters and could go into buildings and ask questions such as what machines are
on but not being used or how long do certain machines stay on for? They could inform
freshman in the dormitories about how they can reduce the amount of electricity they are
using and try to change their wasteful habits.
Many people are skeptical or critical of just starting a program like this, but
throughout my years at Rutgers University those people typically tend to be the ones who
have tunnel vision and are not receptive to change. If Rutgers plans on being carbon
neutral by 2030 it needs to come up with solutions that will be effective and can be
implemented quickly but will last.
________________________________________________________________________
Anton Woronczuk
April 13, 2010
Sent to: Daily Targum
University has a responsibility to reduce wasteful energy consumption
Governor Chris Christie’s tremendous cuts to public education has placed Rutgers
University in a difficult position to cut costs by cutting academic programs, decreasing
full-time professor positions, and often by what President McCormick claims are “last
resort” increases of tuition. Our government is too inept to pass any legislation or to
assist the public even during times of severe economic distress. Rutgers University and
its students can no longer depend on government for the elite, for the rich, and for the
corporations to control or decrease the costs of public education. With no bailout in sight
for public education, the University is left with the options of making important decisions
and enforcing behavior that will decrease operating costs in order to maintain reasonable
tuition costs for New Jersey students.
As an undergraduate laboratory intern, I have witnessed the most significant
waste within research facilities of one pervasive resource: electricity. High-powered
technology, whether computers, equipment for chemical analysis, or refrigerators, is
high-energy consuming, and it is with dismay that I point out that many of these scientific
instruments are left on indefinitely or left idling for extended periods of time. Huge costs
are accrued with this waste that results in no productivity whatsoever. Similar incidents
occur in the residence halls, where students often leave on computers, lights, or phone
chargers even while they are not in use.
The University needs to establish a long-term monitoring system for individual
laboratories and research facilities in order to make a concerted effort to reduce operating
costs. Meters are currently not in place on most of the buildings on the SEBS campus in
the New Brunswick. Specific energy expenditures are unknown. We cannot currently
account for even general uses of electricity throughout the campus. A monitoring system
would allow for the University to establish baseline uses of electricity and then enforce
reduction of wasteful energy use in every laboratory on campus. The money saved could
be enormous, and considering the shameful cuts to public education, this money could be
reinvested in the University to reduce tuition costs and maintain teaching positions and
salaries.