Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.21
Liaison Bushra Al Jaberi
Submission Date May 9, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Sharjah
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.31 / 6.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 128,005,155 Kilowatt-hours 436,753.59 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 84,042.82 Kilowatt-hours 286.75 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 6,571.49 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
443,611.83 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,104,257.51 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 233,329.29 Square feet
Healthcare space 682,840.95 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 144,064.18 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
6,080,662.16 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 0 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 3,930 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
3,930 Degree-Days (°F)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

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

Part 2. Reduction in source energy use per unit of floor area

Baseline year energy consumption

STARS 2.2 requires electricity data in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If a baseline has already been established in a previous version of STARS and the institution wishes to continue using it, the electricity data must be re-entered in kWh. To convert existing electricity figures from MMBtu to kWh, simply multiply by 293.07107 MMBtu/kWh.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 151,081,369 Kilowatt-hours 515,489.63 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 29,307 Kilowatt-hours 100.00 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 11,948.17 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
527,537.80 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
4,104,257.51 Gross square feet

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Jan. 1, 2017 Dec. 31, 2017

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The Building energy consumption baseline was adopted during the year 2017 – The Sustainability office through the Energy and Climate Change Committee developed a plan to reduce the energy consumption, and the carbon foot print and increase the integration of renewable power systems (solar PV and solar thermal) at the University of Sharjah buildings. It is also noted that the University of Sharjah used this baseline (2017 energy consumption data) for the first application to the UI Green Metric World University Ranking.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
2.40

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.11 MMBtu per square foot 0.26 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.13 MMBtu per square foot 0.30 MMBtu per square foot

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
15.54

Optional Fields 

Documentation 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:
* Educational and Research Programs
-Educational program – Example: Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering Department: Unique Bachelor program on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy management – more than 600 students registered for this program.
-New programs – Master and PhD on sustainable and renewable energy engineering.: two new programs submitted to the Ministry of Education.
-Research program: 5-6 research groups from the research institute for sciences end engineering working on sustainability related research (energy, materials, infrastructure, management, civil engineering, …)
-Research – High quality sustainability research papers published in high impact factors journals.

*Energy and Climate Change Circle – Sustainability Office
The Energy and Climate Change Circle from the Sustainability Office at the University of Sharjah is developing strategies and plans for:
-Reduction of the energy consumption for the University buildings
-Reduction of the carbon footprint at the University
-Integrating renewable energy systems
-Increasing awareness and education about sustainability problems that face our community.

*UI Green Metrics Ranking – The University of Sharjah ranked # 1 in UAE three years in raw 2017, 2018 and 2019. The UI Green metrics ranking is used to see the current condition and policies related to Green Campus and Sustainability in the Universities all over the world.

*Solar Decathlon Competition
- 2018 – First participation of the University of Sharjah to the SDME 2018.
- 2020 – Second participation of the UoS to solar decathlon competition.
- Raise awareness of the students participating in the competition – use of renewable energy technologies, energy management and sustainable construction, challenging them to think creatively and develop innovative solutions that contribute to energy savings.
-Encourage professionals from different industries to select materials and systems that reduce the environmental impact of their buildings, optimizing its economic viability and providing comfort and safety of occupants.
-Educate the general public about responsible energy use, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the technologies available to help them to reduce/optimize their energy consumption.
-Encourage the use of solar technologies and demonstrate the performance of solar homes.

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
- The University of Sharjah is using automatic door sensor systems to reduce the cooling load of the building.
- The University of Sharjah performed a feasibility study of the smart building system. The University already performed an energy audit on 5 buildings and is in contact with companies for the implementation of SCADA system for energy management inside the building.
- Occupancy sensors for lighting control are used in hallways and classrooms for the majority of campus buildings.
- Setting the thermostats throughout the university campus buildings - 22-24 degree Celsius.

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
-The University of Sharjah started in 2015 purchasing Energy Efficient Appliances such as the LED -Panel Light 40 Watts and the University Physical Plant is installing these LED Panels in the classroom. Till now they already installed 550 LED panels and will continue to replace all the university light bulbs with more efficient LED panels.
-LED – Lighting: UoS Classrooms, Engineering Buildings, and Elevators.

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
- The University of Sharjah is using solar thermal (Solar Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors) Li/Br/H2O Absorption chiller (10 tones cooling capacity) for cooling the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory.
- The University is also testing solar PV thermal (PVT) to improve the power output from the solar PV during hot days by cooling the back of the solar PV and provide hot water (water circulating in the back of the solar PV through heat exchangers).

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
The University is testing solar PV thermal (PVT) to improve the power output from the solar PV during hot days by cooling the back of the solar PV and provide hot water (water circulating in the back of the solar PV through heat exchangers).

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
- The University of Sharjah purchased energy efficient computers, laptops and printers for the offices at the University.
- The University of Sharjah built solar houses (Solar Decathlon competition). The University participated to the 2018 solar Decathlon in Dubai. The University id building new solar house for 2020 solar decathlon competition. The solar house includes the following efficient appliances: Class A+ refrigerator, Class A+ Oven, Class A++ Freezer, Photocatalytic LED indoor lighting devices

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
There are some inconsistencies in energy-intensive space figures between OP 5 and PRE 4 because in IC categories we included some more new buildings which are under construction. But for OP5-6 we did not include them in the energy analysis because we don't have energy consumption (have been built but still not operational).

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.