Vassar College – Ryan Collins – 2014

Goals

Ryan Collins focused on boosting energy efficiency, financial solvency and environmental stewardship at Vassar College.

Solutions

A first analysis recommended updating 700 high intensity discharge lighting fixtures with long life, high efficiency technologies such as induction and LEDs. This project uncovered potential electricity savings of over 400,000 kilowatt hours and operational savings of up to $52,000 annually. A second project that Collins took part in analyzed energy conservation measures (ECMs) across 16 of the largest buildings on campus. These ECMs included: interior lighting and control updates, building envelope improvements, pipe and valve insulation and mechanical equipment controls. Collins further identified on-campus employee housing heated by fuel oil as an area of opportunity. He recommended energy conservation education, switching to natural gas, considering geothermal retrofits and increasing insulation.

Potential Impact

Environmental benefits from Collins’s initial analysis could exceed 220 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, plus electricity savings of over 400,000 kilowatt hours and operational savings of up to $52,000 anually. His energy conservation measures could save $315,000 and up to 1,000 metric tons of carbon emmision, financible through an energy performance contract. Switching to natural gas in one apartment complex alone could cut fuel oil usage by 44 percent and incur savings of over $36,000 annually.