Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.85
Liaison Andrea Trimble
Submission Date Feb. 8, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of Virginia
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.45 / 6.00 Sophia Philips
Energy Engineer
Office for Sustainability
"---" 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 343,513,138 Kilowatt-hours 1,172,066.83 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 298,226 Kilowatt-hours 1,017.55 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 1,256,617.50 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
2,429,701.87 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
18,918,835 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 1,092,720 Square feet
Healthcare space 1,453,847 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 272,321 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
24,284,290 Gross square feet

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 3,879.20 Degree-Days (°F)
Cooling degree days 1,614.90 Degree-Days (°F)

Total degree days, performance year:
5,494.10 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, 2022 Dec. 31, 2022

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
18.21 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 312,772,479.60 Kilowatt-hours 1,067,179.70 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 1,431,131 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
2,498,310.70 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
15,157,645 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, 2010 Dec. 31, 2010

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
This energy consumption baseline was selected to comply with the DOE Better Building Challenge.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
3

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.13 MMBtu per square foot 0.25 MMBtu per square foot
Baseline year 0.16 MMBtu per square foot 0.31 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:
17.44

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:
Outreach, Engagement, and Communications
Sustainability Advocates (students)
Student Employees – recycling, promotions, water, energy, and student outreach teams (students)
Green Labs Program (students, staff, and faculty)
Green Workplace Program (staff and faculty)
Sustainability Partners (staff and community)
Annual Events (i.e. Earth Week, U.Va. Sustainability Day, Game Day Challenge)
Annual Competitions (i.e. Dorm Energy Race)
Greening existing events (i.e. zero waste support)
Communications support - signage, website, social media, Sustainanewsletter, Green Tips

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
The University of Virginia Green Building Standards outline UVA’s minimum expectations for aligning University-wide sustainability goals with building design, construction, and maintenance. The Standards include a comprehensive package of prescriptive requirements, an implementation process to support projects in meeting the Standards in a cost-effective manner, and for capital projects, an enhanced process to embed sustainability into the decision-making process. The Standards consolidate existing Facility Design Guidelines Requirements, bring additional value to existing requirements, and propose additional requirements to align projects with meeting UVA’s sustainability goals beyond what LEED certification can accomplish or for projects for which LEED certification is not required. Each specification has one or more of the following goals: reduce environmental impact, provide anticipated reduced life cycle costs, and promote healthier and safer buildings.

The Green Building Standards apply to all projects (any project requiring a building or project permit), within the project’s scope of work. Supplemental standards for new construction and major renovations for which LEED certification is already a minimum requirement are included in Part II.

https://sustainability.virginia.edu/green-building-standards

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
LED lighting is required in all new renovated spaces per the UVA Green Building standards.

https://sustainability.virginia.edu/green-building-standards

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
None

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
None

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
Building Efficiency Program
Housed in UVA’s Office for Sustainability, the Building Efficiency Program provides whole-building performance contracting services for facilities across Grounds. Using a revolving loan fund model, the program (formerly known as Delta Force), provides these services at no upfront cost. From 2019-2021, BEP invested $6.3 million in new energy efficiency projects on Grounds. With more than 10 years of similar investments, the program has achieved $21.6 million in energy cost savings in those three years.

Smart Labs
The Smart Labs program bridges safety and energy efficiency in UVA's research spaces by individually and comprehensively assessing each lab, consulting its researchers, UVA Health and Safety experts, and energy engineers to identify infrastructure improvements. The program is anticipated to save an estimated $5 million per year, expanding on the already established and successful Green Labs program, which engages with researchers on sustainability practices in their labs.

Smart Clinics
This program provides a framework for optimizing the performance of University healthcare facilities by identifying opportunities to enhance safety, efficiency, reliability and occupant health in clinical settings.

https://sustainability.virginia.edu/buildings

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program 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.