KU lowers energy costs by raising temps

By Haley Jones

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Rising energy costs aren’t just a hot topic in the presidential campaign — they are a growing concern for the University of Kansas. As a result, Facilities Operations is raising the temperature in buildings around campus.

Utility costs for the University totaled more than $10 million in 2006. Don Steeples, senior vice provost, said skyrocketing utility rates could add almost $2 million to expenses at the Lawrence campus next year.

Steeples said in an e-mail to University professors that fuel surcharge rates had increased to 3.9 and 4.1 cents per kilowatt-hour in July and August, respectively.

In an effort to conserve energy, Facilities Operations adjusted thermostats in buildings several degrees higher, to 78 degrees, between the end of the summer semester and last week.

Facilities Operations also set the valves to stop the flow of cooled water to air conditioners in various buildings for 10 percent to 12 percent of each day.

“A building typically will warm up a few degrees in a few minutes, but since it’s only a few minutes, people don’t notice the discomfort,” Steeples said.

Steeples said he expected the move to save the University at least $3,000 a week in energy costs.

The increase in temperature left some students and professors a little too warm in their classrooms last week when outdoor temperatures reached 97 degrees.

“Fraser was really hot last week,” said David Mills, Rapid City, S.D., junior. “I was sweating both days I was in there.”

Steeples said in the e-mail that the demand for electricity is the greatest on campus between the first day of fall classes and the second week in September, especially between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Jack Martin, deputy director of University Communications, said the recent increases in building temperature were designed to address the high energy demand.

“They’re making these adjustments and they’re going to continue and monitor it and make sure there’s no spikes in temperature,” Martin said.

Doug Riat, director of Facilities Operations, said many buildings on campus had automated control systems, which regulated temperature automatically.

Riat said most of the automated systems were controlled from the Facilities Operations building on west campus.

He said when people tampered with the thermostat in buildings controlled by an automated system, it got the system out of calibration or ruined it entirely.

Riat said if people contacted a facilities technician when they felt discomfort, problems and extra costs could be avoided and time could be saved.

Steeples said people were welcome to contact Facilities Operations if the temperature in their building rose above 80 degrees.

— — Edited by Jennifer Torline

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