EPA cites 'U' for participation in energy program

JEFFREY KOSSEFF/Daily EPA Assistant Administrator Robert Perciasepe presents an award to the University at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library yesterday.

By Sarah Lewis
For the Daily

The Environmental Protection Agency recognized the University's participation in its "Energy Star" Building Energy Conservation Program and commitment to energy conservation during a ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.

Robert Perciasepe, an assistant administrator and award presenter for the EPA, said the Energy Star program's main objective is to reduce energy demand by taking existing buildings and making them more energy and cost efficient through voluntary programs at universities and businesses.

Also, the program aims to reduce pollution, he said.

"When you reduce energy consumption, you also reduce the pollution levels," such as carbon dioxide emissions, Perciasepe said.

The University has been a partner in the Energy Star program for more than a year. Donald Lystra, a utilities engineer and the University's program director, said the initial objective was to make 120 campus buildings more energy efficient during a period of six years. To date, 19 "are substantially completed," he said, with the graduate library being the first completed project.

Lystra said the University had to "put one building up front and use it to perfect the technique," so the library became the program's "pilot building," and was the first to receive an energy efficient makeover. Lystra said teams of engineers and students replaced old lighting fixtures, installed high efficiency ballasts and lamps and mechanically tuned-up heating and cooling machinery.

From the graduate library alone, Perciasepe estimated savings of $225,000 and 2.8 million kilowatt hours, in addition to reducing 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

"Doing 120 buildings would be equivalent to planting 27,000 acres of trees," he said.

Student participation was key to the program's success. Lystra said some students actually were aware of the Energy Star program in the beginning and brought it to his attention.

Claude Bailey, a second-year Engineering graduate student, spoke at the ceremony to represent the student participation in Energy Star. He and 16 other students involved in the project put together performance data and reference manuals in addition to doing the actual repair work on the buildings.

"I wanted a job that gives me the chance to practice my engineering skills in the work environment ... I can take the knowledge I've learned in the Energy Star program and apply it to my future career," Bailey said.

Heidi Savin, an Engineering junior who worked on the program's Website, said she learned the University has many different aspects.

"I learned that the University has another side besides teaching and research. It also has an important business and engineering side," Savin said.

Both Savin and Engineering senior Jordan Jonas said the program provides an excellent setting to interact with others, analyze data and develop good problem solving skills.

Henry Baier, associate vice president of business operations at the University, said "I'm really pleased that (the students) were part of this process. They gave a lot of their own energy.

"I look forward to U of M being a leader in energy conservation and pollution prevention," he said. "We have to think about what each of us can do."

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