Alamo Community Colleges Presented Mega Energy Saver Award for More than $2.5 Million in Utility Cost Savings

The Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) recently recognized the Alamo Community Colleges for saving more than $2.5 million so far in utility costs since the implementation of the district’s Energy Conservation program in 2002. ESL Director Dr. W. Dan Turner and Associate Director Malcolm Verdict formally presented the award to Chancellor Bruce H. Leslie and the ACCD Board of Trustees at the board meeting on September 18. As of 2009, the utility savings realized will cover the initial investment required to implement the Energy Conservation program, and savings will continue to be realized every year.

The Alamo Community Colleges’ energy conservation efforts began in 2001, when the district contracted with the Texas A&M University Energy Systems Laboratory to conduct a Preliminary Energy Audit of ACCD facilities to determine the feasibility of implementing Energy Conservation Measures. These measures included individual projects such as: Continuous Commissioning,® the optimization of heating, ventilation, and cooling systems in existing installations to fine tune and optimize their operation (mainly in the areas of air conditioning systems/boilers and their associated control systems); lighting upgrades to improve lighting quality and decrease energy consumption; modifications to existing air conditioning installations to improve their efficiency; replacement of a set of cooling towers at St. Philip’s College with a new, more energy efficient and durable set; installation of metering and verification systems to enable the district to measure and verify the amount of energy used, initially to establish a baseline, then to quantify the amount of energy saved. From this initial audit, the estimate of costs to implement the projects and the estimate of potential savings was obtained.

In 2002, the ACCD Board of Trustees approved the implementation of the recommendations of the TAMU Energy Systems Laboratory, which required an investment of approximately $3.2 Million. The program began with the process of Continuous Commissioning of existing facilities, followed by the implementation of the Energy Conservation Measures. The Alamo Community Colleges are currently saving above the initial estimated amounts, since these estimates were conservative.

In June 2007, John Strybos, associate vice chancellor for facilities, requested and received approval from the Board to extend the contract with the Energy Systems Laboratory through August 2008. ESL will review plans and specifications for new facilities and make recommendations on necessary modifications to the designs/installations for energy efficiency/conservation; make recommendations on the use of gray water for irrigation and cooling towers; and make recommendations for installation of the necessary equipment to control the impact of harmonics in electrical systems.