ADELPHI UNIVERSITY MAKES THE GRADE IN “GREENING” STORY BY MAUREEN TRAXLER

There’s a community on Long Island that’s going “green” — The Adelphi University community, that is. Adelphi puts the idea of “community” into perspective by comparing the university campus to a municipality with schools, hotels, restaurants, department stores, fitness centers, roadways, parking lots and garages, a police force, a transportation system, a public works unit, power, water and sewer systems, residents and thousands of commuters arriving and departing each day. An enthusiastic leader in energy conservation and recycling, Adelphi’s new efforts have raised the university to a model “green campus.”

“We often refer to Adelphi as an engaged campus,” says University President Dr. Robert Scott, “Well, we’re engaged with the environment, so we’d better be respectful. Adelphi’s more recent emphasis on energy efficiency and natural and organic products and techniques “is consistent with our mission and vision.”

While Adelphi has traditionally taken steps to be environmentally friendly and fuel efficient, the university took a giant step in 2003 when it constructed its new residence hall. The original design for the building contemplated a conventional large mechanical chiller and boiler system. However, Adelphi was contacted by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and asked to consider installing a geothermal heating and cooling system. University trustees and administration were supportive of constructing a “green” building, so Adelphi worked with LIPA and the architectural firm Fletcher-Thompson to bring the project forward. By taking this step, Adelphi became the only higher education institution in the region to install a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Enhanced Energy Efficiency

The beauty of the geothermal system at New Hall, which creates a 460-foot-deep well and loop configuration, is that it taps the Earth’s consistent, below surface temperature of around 50º. It’s a completely closed system that does not intermingle with groundwater. The system circulates water through the building (like a home system) and then underground. During its underground passage, warm water is cooled and cool water is warmed. The water circulating back into the building is able to bring room temperature down in warm weather when the temperature rises above 50º and up in cold weather when the temperature dips below 50º.

The underground system is located to the west of the building and under the courtyard situated within the “L” shape of the building. The 60 wells were designed and engineered to meet the capacity need of New Hall. The loop field provides a very large heat sink from which heat pumps in each room can draw heat or cooling.

“The residence hall is set up like a hotel. Each room has its own thermostat so students have control over individual room temperatures,” says Robert Shipley, associate director, mechanical and electrical systems. “It means much greater efficiency,” he adds, “We’re not running one big machine, not cooling or heating the entire building, just the rooms people are in. The system has few moving parts; it’s easy to operate.” Dr. Scott commented that this system makes good use of science.

The $1 million dollar system, which increased the project cost by $650,000, has decreased New Hall’s dependence on the Long Island power grid by an estimated 30% each year over the last three years. This allowed the University to reduce its oil and natural gas consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was estimated that Adelphi would recoup its additional expense within 7 to 8 years; however, the recent increases in fuel and energy costs have reduced that to 4 to 5 years. Shipley declares, “We’re almost there!”

In addition to the system at New Hall, Adelphi upgraded its campus-wide heating system in 2005 replacing all underground pipes with new high-efficiency piping, and is currently installing a new heating control system to further improve its boiler operations. These measures have resulted in a 7% decrease in energy consumption despite the addition of the new residence hall, longer service hours, an increase in campus events, and more students, faculty and staff.

Geothermal II and the LEED Certification

With the success of the residence hall geothermal system, Adelphi made the commitment to “go green” with its new Centers for Sport and Performing Arts, now under construction. A second 300-well field, located in the former tennis court area, will heat and cool the soon-to-be completed 80,000-square-foot Recreation and Sports facility and a 60,000-square-foot Performing Arts facility. Larger and more complex, yet fully computerized, this geothermal system will control temperature, carbon dioxide and humidity levels. Shipley notes, “It all comes down to thermostats and sensors in spaces throughout the buildings that will tell the equipment what to do.”

The new technology Adelphi is using for the system is required for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) a non-profit organization working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for green buildings and promotes an approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. To earn certification, a project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks (credits) within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. Adelphi recently joined USGBC and has filed its second geothermal system for LEED certification.

“We decided we wanted to be at least Silver, and maybe Gold,” says Dr. Scott. “I believe we’re within two points of gaining the Gold certification.”

Return on Investment

While LIPA offers advice and workshops, there are no real monetary incentives, except the savings realized by reducing dependence on the power grid—a savings that grows once the initial investment is recouped.

However, Adelphi has entered into an agreement with EnerNOC, a leading developer and provider of power solutions that help optimize the balance of electric supply and demand. Through the EnerNOC partnership, Adelphi agreed to cutback 400 kilowatts of power in receipt of approximately $90,000 from EnerNOC over a five-year period. This agreement allows EnerNOC to redirect those 400kw of Adelphi consumption to other customers, alleviating some of the burden on the Long Island power grid. To ensure the safety of students in the residence halls, Adelphi purchased a small generator.

The University is now negotiating a second agreement with EnerNOC to further reduce its energy consumption by an additional 1,000kw on high demand days, bringing an additional compensation of $90,000 over five years. While the expected income is below the capital investment for another generator, Adelphi is considering this important step to show it is a good global citizen and to provide backup power in case of an extended power outage.

Peak demand often occurs in the cold month of January and the dog-days of August, when as Dr. Scott points out, Adelphi has “the least activity on campus and the least need for heavy use.”

“There is considerable movement among universities around the country to adopt sustainable and greening practices,” notes Dr. Scott. While the pursuit of such projects on Long island is “expensive,” he adds that “Adelphi is very strong financially. We’re pleased that we’re doing our part and we want to do more.”

Environmentally Friendly and Cost Saving Measures

“We have a very creative and imaginative staff,” compliments Dr. Scott, who also acknowledges the contributions of faculty and students, like those in the Environmental Club and environmental science classes, for initiating improvements. “It’s not a matter of top down. The credit can be spread around quite a bit.” Some of the campus initiatives include:

On-site bicycle storage, changing rooms, dedicated hybrid vehicle parking spaces, and shuttle bus service to nearby LIRR stations, Roosevelt Field, business centers and other locations; a reflective roof material to minimize heat effect and reduce cooling loads in summer; water efficient faucets, shower fixtures, and dual flush toilets; Green Seal© products for cleaning and paper goods; light motion© detectors and fuel efficient campus vehicles; and high performance glazing and use of skylights to maximize natural light and reduce the need for artificial light while minimizing heat loss.

Adelphi has an extensive recycling program, which includes batteries, computer equipment and printer cartridges, as well as paper and cans. The campus recycler even separates mercury and other heavy metals from fluorescent light bulbs for reuse in new products. Adelphi is also mindful to order chemicals and photo lab products that are non-hazardous.

The University received LEED credit for its construction waste management plan that targets 90% diversion of demolition and construction waste from landfills. The process separates and recycles building debris. For example, Shipley says, “An existing parking lot was demolished and all the asphalt and concrete was ground up on site and put back down as the base of the new parking lot,” reducing hundreds of fossil-fuel burning truck hours on the roads.”

Adelphi also received LEED credit for using certified wood harvested from responsibly managed forests and regionally produced materials from within 500 miles of campus, reducing consumption of fossil fuels over long hauls. The University has gone to a full organic program for its grounds maintenance, stopping the use of all chemical pesticides on turf, plants and trees, and is installing a computerized irrigation system that is tied into an existing campus weather station which will calculate wind, humidity and rainfall to customize watering schedules.

In line with Dr. Scott’s “we want to do more,” Adelphi is exploring wind and solar energy saving techniques. Shipley points out that while “zoning issues and green technologies do tend to butt heads,” Adelphi is seeking to overcome obstacles to energy saving techniques. There may yet be “Gold” in Adelphi’s future.

© 2007 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE 2020 GUIDE TO GOING GREEN