Sustainability at Rensselaer

In 1993 Campus Planning and Facilities Design loaned $2 million dollars to improve the efficiency of lighting and HVAC units (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) in the classrooms and dorms. With this money, 90% of the lighting systems were replaced. The image to the left shows the lights prior to this investment, and the image to the right shows the new lighting retrofits. We were also able to purchase variable speed drives, which prevent the HVAC motors from running at maximum speed at all times, which is designed to accommodate the hottest and coldest days, instead they run at the minimum speed necessary at that moment. These new retrofits reduced electrical usage by 30% which resulted in a savings of $367,416 per year, a payback time of less than 6 years. These dollar savings also translate to a reduction of 8,445,691 pounds of CO2, 42,189 pounds of SO2, and 15,749 pounds of NOx every year.