Three grants totaling just over $350,000 have been awarded to Fredonia to improve overall energy efficiency through “BuildSmart NY,” Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reduce energy use in state buildings by 20 percent by 2020.
Fredonia was one of 11 SUNY campuses and SUNY System Administration that will share in $2.7 million awarded through the New York Power Authority’s first-ever Operation and Maintenance Acceleration Program (OMAP) grant competition. Created by the authority, the competition is an extension of BuildSmart NY and was designed to stimulate and accelerate operations, maintenance and minor rehabilitation projects at state facilities.
“SUNY’s building portfolio represents 40 percent of all state-owned facilities, and we committed to maintaining a highly energy-efficient and sustainable infrastructure,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “SUNY is proud to take on a leading role in Governor Cuomo’s BuildSmart initiative, which aligns closely with a major tenet of our own strategic plan to reduce our carbon footprint as we contribute to an Energy Smart New York.”
According to Gabriel Cowles, BuildSmart NY program manager, Fredonia’s projects were rated highly based on the OMAP Grant Competition evaluation criteria, and deemed worthy grant recipients. Grant applications were prepared by Kevin Cloos, director of Facilities Services, who will manage the three projects.
Fredonia’s largest single allocation, $250,000, will be leveraged with $130,510 in SUFC Critical Maintenance Funding for a comprehensive HVAC Retro-Commissioning project to undertake operational and maintenance improvements that optimize the performance of subsystems in 22 of its larger buildings.
Carrying an estimated cost of just over $380,500, these improvements were identified in a 2013 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) FlexTech Benchmarking Operational and Maintenance study. Twelve residence halls as well as University Commons, Williams Center, Steele Hall and Natatorium, Services Complex, Thompson Hall, and Mason Hall and its addition will be included.
With an annual cost savings for natural gas and electricity estimated at nearly $125,000, the payback period for these improvements is projected at 3.1 years. Construction will take approximately three months for hard installations, with retro-commissioning to be conducted during all four seasons to ensure all project systems run properly.
Fredonia’s BuildSmart NY grant will fully fund $75,000 needed to expand preventative maintenance that maximizes the life cycles of campus facilities and equipment through a customized routine maintenance schedule. The project will result in lower energy use and overall life cycle costs of operation as well as improved performance and reliability. Systems and equipment maintained properly with scheduled filter changes, tuning and programming are proven to reduce energy consumption and save money.
A consultant will develop an assessment and implementation plan that encompasses a review of existing systems as well as equipment maintenance recommendations of the manufacturers.
The BuildSmart NY grant will also provide $30,000 to Fredonia to expand the operational reliability of its systems, reduce operating expenses and extend asset life through the hiring of an outside contractor with technical expertise for HVAC maintenance and filter changing.
Fredonia will use cost savings generated by all three BuildSmart NY projects to fund additional energy savings projects or operational improvements to further reduce overall energy use on campus.
