Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.49
Liaison Lisa Kilgore
Submission Date April 28, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Cornell University
IN-27: Innovation D

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Sarah Carson
Director, Campus Sustainability Office
FS - Energy & Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Cornell Energy & Water Cooling Conservation Loop

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Cornell University produces energy on-site to provide heat and power to the Ithaca campus using steam heating. In the past, as turbines converted steam to electricity in the Central Energy Plant (CEP), additional heat was discarded to prevent mechanical malfunction in the generators, wasting both heating energy and potable water. Cornell utilities engineer Garret Quist designed a system to cut campus water use by millions of gallons a year by targeting inefficiencies in the CEP. A new method prevents generator overload using a heat exchanger-based water-cooling system from Cornell’s campus chilled-water network. By creating this feedback loop with existing systems, previously wasted energy becomes a part of a closed loop energy system. The new system, built for about $42,000, saves the university $24,000 annually in water, sewer and treatment costs, and reduces the annual 475,000-gallon water loss to zero.

Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Energy
Waste
Water

Optional Fields

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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