Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.33
Liaison Kristin Larson
Submission Date July 31, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Diego State University
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.01 / 6.00 Nick Poser
Energy Analyst student intern
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

This credit is based on energy inputs from offsite sources and electricity produced by onsite renewables. When the institution purchases one fuel and uses it to produce heat and/or power, you should enter only what is purchased. For example, if the institution purchases natural gas to fuel a CHP system and produce steam and electricity, only the purchased natural gas should be reported.

Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Grid-purchased electricity 81,740.63 MMBtu 66,681 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site renewables 6,624 MMBtu 482 MMBtu
District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) 0 MMBtu 0 MMBtu
Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) 804,518.70 MMBtu 1,042,071 MMBtu
Total 892,883.33 MMBtu 1,109,234 MMBtu

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 1, 2008

A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
N/A

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area of building space 5,951,063 Gross square feet 5,193,957 Gross square feet

Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
3.14

Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Site energy 0.15 MMBtu per square foot 0.21 MMBtu per square foot
Source energy 0.18 MMBtu per square foot 0.24 MMBtu per square foot

Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
25.56

Part 2 

Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
Degree days (see help icon above)
Heating degree days 1,444 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 898 Degree-Days (°F)

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 293,363 Square feet
Healthcare space 82,584 Square feet
Other energy intensive space

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
6,833,850 Gross square feet

Building energy consumption (site energy) per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
55.79 Btu / GSF / Degree-Day (°F)

Optional Fields 

Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
---

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency (e.g. outreach and education efforts):
The Office of Sustainability hired a student intern beginning in Fall 2018 to manage and expand the Green Office Certification Program (GOCP) on campus. The GOCP promotes awareness and behavior change around energy and sustainability efforts in individual departments on campus. COVID-19 has diminished the impact of our efforts on this front for the Spring 2020 semester.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
Facilities Services also implemented an energy savings software, Events2HVAC, that has saved approximately $12,000 this year. This software allows the room reservation system to communicate with the Building Automation System (BAS) controlling heating and cooling units to turn-on 20 minutes before a room is occupied and to turn-off afterwards, saving energy and providing increased thermal comfort.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Facilities Services removed fluorescent lighting and replaced it with LEDs for a total energy cost savings of approximately $95,000 for the fiscal year of 2019-2020.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
SDSU is currently reviewing bids to install 5 MW of solar on campus.

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
SDSU has a cogeneration plant that is comprised of two natural gas turbines and one steam turbine that produces steam to heat campus as well as generates 76% of the campus' electricity needs.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives (e.g. building re-commissioning or retrofit programs):
Facilities Services implemented a retro-commissioning project at Arts & Letters resulting in a reduction in energy use by over 35%. Other retro-commissioning projects currently underway include CSL, GMCS, Fowler Athletics, and Peterson Gym. Pairing well with commissioning, Facilities Services has set the Energy Information System up to automatically detect problems within ten buildings on campus allowing Facilities the opportunity to fix the problems before occupants even notice, providing increased thermal comfort, and ultimately, saving energy and cost. The Office of Sustainability has implemented an Energy Information System that amalgamates meters on campus that record energy and water consumption (in the form of electricity, natural gas, hot and chilled water), as well as waste per building. This allows more frequent and accurate data reporting on our campus dashboards.

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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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.