Energy and Buildings
Energy
BYU's co-generation plant uses a combustion process to produce electricity and capture the resulting heat to condition large portions of campus with no additional emissions. This electricity is purchased by the Utah Municipal Power Agency, which supplies power to Provo, as well as Levan, Manti, Nephi, Salem, and Spanish Fork. The agency strives to achieve "the reduction of greenhouse gasses, cleaner air along the Wasatch front, and sustainable efforts by the public," in partnership with BYU. Importantly, Provo City aims to achieve 60 percent renewable and clean power-supply by 2030.
Buildings
Lighting
Buildings at BYU are designed to be energy-efficient. Indoors and out, nearly all inefficient lighting on campus has been upgraded to LEDs and T8 fluorescents. In many buildings, occupancy sensors turn off lighting fixtures automatically when they are no longer in use. Finally, larger windows that allow more natural light help reduce the demand for indoor lighting.
Standards and controls
Temperature setpoint standards have been created for all campus classrooms, offices, conference rooms, general work spaces, labs, lobbies, hallways, other public spaces, and critical spaces. Since 2021, BYU has scheduled heating and cooling controls in a dozen buildings. In partnership with Bernhard, it has also performed energy analysis and implemented turn-key energy improvement projects for six buildings occupying nearly 1.4 million square feet. Similar projects at another three buildings occupying 0.5 million square feet are in progress or in planning.
Systems
BYU is reducing its energy consumption through improved building envelope technology, which reduces air flow through traditional energy loss spots (between roofs and walls) by adding an additional specialized membrane over the building insulation. This helps keep conditioned air inside the building and keeps out the unconditioned outside air.
BYU is also improving its building automation systems across campus. A re-commissioning process was piloted at the Office of Information Technology Building and deployed on a larger scale at the Life Sciences Building. In two years, natural gas consumption fell by 50 percent and electrical cooling consumption by 30 percent. The lessons learned from this process are currently being replicated across campus.
Other efficiency projects
BYU is working to significantly reduce energy consumption in 15 major campus buildings. Physical Facilities crews have installed variable speed drives on all fans and pumps, replaced incandescent lights with fluorescent lights, replaced many office light switches with motion sensors, begun optimizing chiller sequencing to reduce energy consumption, upgraded roof insulation, and retrofitted many campus buildings with low-E reflective glass.