Sustainability: Construction & Renovation
Resource Saving: Mara Village
New Residence Hall at Mara Village (PDF)
Taking advantage of natural lighting and operable, shaded windows, less electricity will be needed to power the efficient fluorescent lighting, and less fuel will be used in the high efficiency gas heating and hot water systems. The heating system is monitored with real-times data, allowing for optimal adjustments.
Dual-flush toilets, which allow users to choose how much water is needed to flush along with low-flow showerheads and faucets, will cut water usage in the residence.
Recycled and local building materials increase sustainability. Low-emission materials will assure cleaner air quality inside the structure.
Landscaping minimizes mowing and eliminates irrigation.
Alternative transportation takes a front seat. The building has bicycle storage and will be serviced by a no-cost campus shuttle and regional bus services.
A green housekeeping program encompassing the cleaning schedule and use of green seal products and cleaners will help maintain sustainable design. Each floor will have recycling areas.
LED Lighting Retrofit: Hammond Building
While using half the wattage as a compact fluorescent, the Hammond LED Light Pilot Project replaced more than 200 of the 6" recessed light fixtures with LED lights using an adaptor kit. The light is whiter and brighter which provides superb lighting for the building. Installed in June 2009, these new bulbs are expected to last up to 5 years even with constant use. $18,000 in funding was awarded to Fitchburg State to complete this pilot project by the Massachusetts Leading by Example program. Locations in the building where you can see the impact of these lights include the main stairwell in the center of the building and at the exterior entrance overhangs.
EEMS (Enterprise Energy Management System) Program
Targeting State Colleges, Universities, state prisons and other public buildings, the EEMS Contract is a $10 million dollar contract that represents 20 percent of the States Energy Program funding awarded to Massachusetts by the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestments Act (ARRA). The EEMS effort will use state-of-the-art technology to track energy use in real time- in the short run, alerting building and agency managers to unexpected usage patterns so they can make feul-saving adjustments and, in the long run, pinpointing areas in need of an energy overhaul.
The project commenced in June 2010 with a site-survey of 42 buildings on the Fitchburg State campus. The site survey is used to gather information about the utilities and buildings on the Fitchburg State campus so that a detailed plan for enhancing, replacing or introducing new metering equipment for each campus building. The utilities metered will include electric, natural gas, steam, water, and fuel oil. The installation of the new metering equipment is scheduled for the fall of 2010 with the new system expected to be live in early 2011. The system will include an on-line monitoring and reporting tool that will allow campus users to monitor energy use at the building level. For most of our campus this is the first time this information will be readily available for action and dissemination – helping our campus better maintain our equipment, reduce energy consumption and educate the campus community.
Geothermal Heating & Cooling: Exercise Science Office Building (currently being renovated)
Solar Photovoltaic Installations: Sanders & Anthony Buildings
In June 2010, Fitchburg State University entered into an agreement with the Department of Capital Asset Management for the first campus solar photovoltaic installation. The installation will be funded with a combination of college, state and ARRA funding. The installation is scheduled to begin in late September and be completed by December 2010. The Sanders array will be a 71Kw system and the Anthony system will be 19Kw in size. The combined systems will include 348 solar photovoltaic panels that will be mounted on the roofs of the buildings. When completed, the two arrays combined are expected to generate 109,000 KWh annually. Though a small installation, that is enough to provide electricity for 10 average US homes for an entire year!
Education and Outreach
Student led tours will be available year-round on week-days at 11:30 and 2:30. Educational signage will be placed throughout the building and more information will be available to others on the campus and in the community on the housing website.
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