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from the issue of September 29, 2005
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Chancellor outlines energy issues
Editor's Note - This is a campus wide E-mail issued by UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman on Sept. 26.
Dear Colleagues:
I am forced to write to you on a serious matter that requires our attention.
This e-mail is directed specifically to deans and drectors, but because of its seriousness I am sending it to everyone.
Like everyone else - your households and local businesses - UNL is experiencing double-digit inflation in our utility costs. Energy price increases are attributable to an overall increase in worldwide demand for energy and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which compromised supplies from U.S. refineries.
Because of the increases in energy costs, UNL's business office is projecting a $3.6 million shortfall in our Lincoln campus utility budget. This is a 25 percent increase in our utility budget, from $14.3 million to $17.9 million. This is serious money coming on top of our other fiscal challenges.
We have tried measures to conserve energy. Since 2002 we have initiated $2.4 million in energy conservation projects on the campus. We will continue to be aggressive in this area.
You may recall that two years ago I initiated a "Turn Off the Lights" campaign, the most noticeable consequence of which was the silly picture of me on the web turning off the light switch. This year the magnitude of our utility deficit forces us to consider measures that are more draconian than just turning off lights and computers.
Our major use of utilities is tied to the heating and cooling of our buildings, with secondary major utility use tied to fume hoods, other major research equipment, and computers and other office equipment. Therefore, we face a difficult dilemma. We are faced with the difficult choice of either dramatically reducing our use of energy on the campus or reallocating critical program funds to energy consumption.
I recognize that reducing energy may also have an impact on our other activities such as research and teaching. Given our current situation we are best served by finding the right balance between cutting back on energy and altering our customary behaviors without unduly impacting our programs.
So, here is one possible course of action. UNL's Facilities Management projects that by shutting down our heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems during the night and weekend hours for all state-funded buildings, we have the potential of reducing our energy costs by $2.7 million. This involves stopping the building air handling equipment resulting in no air conditioning or ventilation. This will also limit winter heating during the shutdown periods to that level which will keep the average temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our systems do not permit a refined control of temperatures in buildings or parts of buildings.
I fully realize that any savings would be substantially eroded if faculty and staff used space heaters or other less efficient means of controlling temperatures. Thus, if we proceed we will need your cooperation to achieve any real reduction. The worst case would be to proceed and still not reduce our deficit.
With a campus of more than 100 buildings housing numerous programs and activities, we understand the enormity of the task of trying to make judgments about which buildings can be shut down. However, not considering this possibility for many buildings means we forfeit the opportunity to protect programs from further reductions.
We have posted on the UNL web home page a list of buildings and the projected utility savings for each if we were to shut down heating, air conditioning, and ventilation on Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and on weekends from 6 p.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Monday. Facilities Management expects that the comfort levels in the buildings would continue to be reasonable for one hour after the shutdown and would begin to be comfortable again a couple of hours after the HVAC systems are turned back on.
We have exempted a few buildings from the list for obvious reasons because their laboratory exhaust systems must be maintained at all times or for safety code reasons. Housing, Campus Recreation, and other UNL auxiliary operations face similar energy cost increases and are developing their own responses.
So that we might assess the campus reaction and the realistic opportunities that we have, we have designed a petition that campus units may file if there are major extenuating circumstances that would suggest that an exemption is required.
Our building systems are designed and operated to heat or cool an entire building or a major section of a building. They are not designed to heat and cool individual rooms; therefore, we would hope that department heads, deans, and directors would limit their petitions to only those most critical areas of need. Please note that the petition form includes space to identify alternative energy conservation measures that could be taken by the department to minimize the impact of the shutdown. For instance, instead of maintaining HVAC for two buildings to accommodate two evening classes, could we move the classes to one of the buildings so one building could be shut down?
The sooner we implement energy conservation, the better.
I am asking that each dean or director submit petitions for exemption by Friday, Sept. 30. We will evaluate the responses and determine whether a shutdown is appropriate beginning as quickly as possible. The petition can be found as a downloadable file on the UNL web home page at . Completed petitions should be sent to Vice Chancellor for Business and Finanace Chris Jackson.
I would not consider such a move if I were not called upon to choose between a measure such as this and further compromising program budgets.
I also acknowledge that this measure will not be enough to reduce our energy costs by the entire amount of the projected shortfall; Facilities estimates that building shutdowns will generate $2.7 million in savings. We also need to implement a myriad of smaller measures as well.
If we could all make it a habit to shut off lights in unused rooms and laboratories and turn off all equipment not being used, it will help. We also have on the web a list of energy savings tips.
I am asking for your help in implementing every measure on the list, and any others that you can think of, to help address this concern.
Thank you for your continued support and for your attention to this highly important and difficult matter.
Harvey Perlman, UNL Chancellor
GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 29
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