Past Conservation Projects

Stern Toilets Retrofit Project (Burbank, Casa Zapata, Serra, Donner)

Synergy Solar Panel Project

*estimates given by Akeena Solar, Inc

See the real-time performance of the Synergy Solar System

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Premium Efficiency Motors Retrofit

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Lighting Projects

Since every residence has literally hundreds of light fixtures, much of the work done by the Energy Coordinator has focused on upgrading these areas. The reason for this is simple: lighting improvements are fairly straightforward and often yield significant savings in both energy and maintenance expenses. Installing new fixtures improves the atmosphere of a residence, keeping Student Housing safely and comfortably well-lit. Unlike homes or offices, in which occupants are present only a fraction of the day, dorms are in use around the clock. This often means the lights are switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making these improvements central to the department's efforts. Here are some of the lighting projects the Energy Coordinator's office has completed over the last few years:

2003

Robert Moore Houses (Bob, Casa Italiana) & Xanadu Lighting Retrofit

Wilbur Lighting Retrofit

2002

Cowell Cluster Lighting Retrofit

Wilbur Hall Lighting Retrofit

Lyman Commons Lighting Retrofit

Roble Lighting Retrofit

* All savings and payback predictions for projects completed in 2002 are based on 2002 electricity rates. Savings may be greater and paybacks may be shorter because actual electricity rates have increased over time.

2001

Florence Moore Occupancy Sensors

Governor's Corner Lighting Retrofit

* All savings and payback predictions for projects completed in 2001 are based on 2001 electricity rates. Savings may be greater and paybacks may be shorter because actual electricity rates have increased over time.

2000

Sterling Quad Lighting Retrofit

* All savings and payback predictions for projects completed in 2000 are based on 2000 electricity rates. Savings may be greater and paybacks may be shorter because actual electricity rates have increased over time.

1999

Storey Lighting Retrofit

Roble Outdoor Lighting Retrofit

EV Lighting Retrofit

Student Housing Offices Lighting Retrofit

Cluster I Lighting Retrofit

Dining Lighting Retrofit

Manzanita and Wilbur Lighting Retrofit

Lagunita Outdoor Lighting Retrofit

Toyon, Roble, Branner Lighting Retrofit

* All savings and payback predictions for projects completed in 1999 are based on 1999 electricity rates. Savings may be greater and paybacks may be shorter because actual electricity rates have increased over time.

1998

Toyon, Branner, Lagunita Candelabra Lighting Retrofit

Mirrielees Lighting Retrofit

Small Residence Lighting Retrofit

Rains Lighting Retrofit

* All savings and payback predictions for projects completed in 1998 are based on 1998 electricity rates. Savings may be greater and paybacks may be shorter because actual electricity rates have increased over time.

1997

Halogen Lamps
Free swaps of halogen lamps for safer, energy-efficient lamps were conducted in April and June of 1997. Students trade halogen torchieres for CoolBrite 4000s, a fluorescent torchiere based on a prototype developed in the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

CoolBrite 4000s Halogen Lamps
- Use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) - Use high-energy, high CO2 and SO2
- Burn at a low 100 degrees F emission incandescent lamps
- 20% brighter than Halogens - Burn at 750 - 1,100 degrees F
- Use 1/5th of the energy consumed by Halogens!
- As of 1998, halogen-related fires had killed 29 people, injured 112, and caused more than $2 million in property damage.

Currently, fluorescent torcheries are becoming increasingly popular and much more readily available.

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Low-flush Toilet Replacement

Old Model Toilets need 3.5-5 gallons per flush (gpf), while New Low-Flush Toilets only use 1.6 gpf! Just changing the toilets can decrease water usage by 60% or more.

2003

Wilbur Low-Flush Toilet Retrofit

*Assumes a domestic water rate of $0.00393/gal and sewer rate of $0.0028/gal.

2001-2002

Water use in the EV Low-rises has been monitored closely since the toilet retrofit in June 2001. Here are the results:

*We reached 133% of our goal!

Since the water savings from low-flow toilets are so attractive and recent advances in design have increased performance, Student Housing is looking to convert all toilets in the future. We are currently in the process of changing over 100 toilets in Wilbur Hall.

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Sink Aerator and Showerhead Replacement

2002

In Summer 2002 the undergraduate dorms underwent a sink aerator and showerhead replacement. Currently, the showerheads in the residences vary from the newer California standard flow rate of 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute), to as much as 6.0 gpm. The new showerheads will be the California standard 2.5 gpm, but the newer design allows much higher pressure than typical low flow heads. The new sink aerators will be 1.5 gpm (an improvement over the 2.2 and 2.5 gpm current Stanford standards) and will also be vandal proof. These replacements together are predicted to save 12,204,104 gallons of water and $82,048 per year! The feedback has been very positive! In Summer 2003 we will be upgrading most graduate apartments in the same fashion, and we've projected savings of nearly 14 million more gallons of water.

• New Showerheads
  - New specs: 2.5 gpm model from Energy Tech Labs
  - # new showerheads: 995 in undergrad residences + Crothers/CroMem
• New Sink Aerators
  - New specs: 1.5 gpm model from Neoperl
  - # new aerators: 1,902 in undergrad residences + Crothers/CroMem
• Sink and Shower Savings together
  - Projected Water Savings: 12,204,104 gallons per year
  - Projected $ Savings: $82,048/yr

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Irrigation Improvements

2002

One major area of water use is irrigation. Irrigation accounts for approximately 10% of all water used by Student Housing. Currently, Student Housing is in the process of upgrading its irrigation controls. The new system, known as Maxicom, communicates with a central computer over narrowband radio waves, allowing the system operator to adjust run times based on daily conditions. This, in effect, enables Student Housing to optimize the use of water each day. Several of the features include:

- Flo-Manager: central computer control of several hundred irrigation stations
- Flo-Watch: check for breaks in the irrigation lines
- Cycle+Soak: system cycles on and off for short periods of time to allow the water to soak into the soil
- Rain Watch: no more watering lawns during rain storms!

The new Maxicom system is expected to significantly increase watering efficiency and monitoring. Student Housing has nearly completed retrofitting this new technology, and it is now the standard for all new construction on campus.

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Contests

2002 Row and Cluster Houses Energy Contest

In November of 2001, Student Housing launched an energy contest for the Row and Cluster Houses. The goal of this contest was to raise campus awareness of electricity consumption. Twenty-one houses chose to participate in this four-month-long event. In order to see who conserved energy most effectively, each house's electrical use was recorded on a monthly basis and was compared to usage from the previous year. Occupancy changes from one year to the next were figured into the calculations, along with variations in electric meter reading dates.

Phi Sig was the big winner, saving a whopping 26.9% of their energy use from November through February! The 8 houses with the largest energy savings were: Phi Sig, French House, Grove Lasuen, Haus Mitt, Terra, 557 Mayfield, Hammarskjold, and 680 Lomita. Each of these houses won a new Energy Star refrigerator, free of charge! The electricity bill for Student Housing decreased by $4,340 thanks to the conservation efforts of all participating students, which offset the cost of the refrigerators given to the winners and helped make the contest a big success for everyone involved.

1992 Save Water Now! Contest

Spring of 1992 saw a return of the Save Water Now! Contest. Winners this time around were:

Self/Co-op
1st place: EAST House- 218 gal/person/wk
2nd place: Synergy- 223 gal/person/wk
University-op
1st place: Roble- 305 gal/person/wk
2nd place: Branner/Toyon- 322 gal/person/wk
No Kitchen
1st place: Jenkins/Marx- 169 gal/person/wk
2nd place: Robinson- 187 gal/person/wk

Roble Hall went on to donate $500 of its winnings to The Citizens' Committee to Complete The Refuge. This money helped the Committee to purchase Bair Island, a 1200-acre tidal marsh located near Redwood City which provides habitat for the endangered California clapper rail and many other estuary-dependent species. East House helped The Trust for Public Land protect estuarine habitat with a $300 donation.

1991 Save Water Now! Contest

Due in large part to the six-year drought that hit California from 1986 to 1992, water conservation efforts gained widespread momentum during this period. Through retrofits, awareness campaigns, and contests, Stanford sought to do its part. In spring quarter, 1991, the Housing Energy Conservation Center (HECC- now called the Student Housing Energy and Water Conservation department), with the cooperation of the Housing and Food Services O&M Department and the Office of Public Affairs, launched the Save Water Now! Contest. Participating dorms included Toyon, Branner, Stern, Florence Moore, Kimball, Governors Corner dorms and houses, and Row and Cluster houses. These residences were divided into categories according to the type of kitchen service their house had: self or co-ops (food service is handled by the occupants; used only in the row and cluster houses), University run (kitchens used and food service provided by Stanford staff), and places with no kitchens included. Once every week for six weeks, environmental representatives (E-reps) from each of the participating dorms recorded readings off of the dorm water meter. Results were measured in terms of average water consumption per capita. At the end of the six weeks the winners were:

Self/Co-op
1st place: French House- 60 gal/person/day; 10% savings
University-op
1st place: Branner/Toyon- 43 gal/person/day; 7% savings
No Kitchen
1st place: Paloma/Mirlo- 45 gal/person/day; 15% savings

Prizes included study breaks from the House of Bagels, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Stanford Pub- Pizza & Grill, Whole Foods Market, Round Table Pizza, and Suzanne's Muffins!

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Boiler Replacement

2002

All EV Low Rise hot water boilers (used for heating apartments and hot water) were replaced with new more efficient models. The new boilers are expected to use over 30% less energy than the older inefficient boilers. A new project to complement this effort will begin in Summer 2003. All EV low-rise apartments use radiant floor heating to keep spaces warm. While this creates a comfortable atmosphere, these systems are prone to leaks and costly to run. As a result, the existing 40-year-old radiant floor heating systems will be upgraded to hydronic systems that give the user more control and operate more efficiently.

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Summer and Winter Break Shutdowns

2001-2002

Beginning in 2001 Student Housing started shutting down the major utilities in unoccupied residences. A significant amount of energy is saved by turing off all of the lights, hot water, and heat in these buildings at the main controls. The 2001-2002 winter break shutdowns saved an estimated $75,000. Additionally, Student Housing is asking students to unplug refrigerators and turn off computers while they are gone, adding to the savings.

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Fairs

Earth Week 1997:

Stanford Housing encouraged students to switch from Halogen Lamps to safer, more environment-friendly lamps. At the time there were over 2,000 halogens in Stanford residences.

Stanford University banned halogen lamps from use on campus in the fall of 1997.

April 3, 1992- Water Fair

Who: Put on by Stanford Operations and Maintenance Department.
Where: White Plaza
When: April 3rd, 1992
Why: Raise awareness about water conservation issues!
What: Information booths and product demonstrations and displays:

- American Air & Water Council
- SF Water Department
- Boething Treeland Farm
- Urban Farmer Store
- Stanford Operations & Maintenance Utilities
- Stanford Recycling Center

Presentations included, among others:
- "The Status of the Hetch Hetchy"
- "Campus Water Update"
- "Drought Tolerant Landscaping"

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