Water Conservation

RR-Wing Cooling Tower Replacement

The RR-Wing Cooling tower is being replaced. The cooling tower is being up-sized to serve about a dozen single pass through cooling units currently served by City water. Projected avoided cost data is currently unavailable.

Ultra Low Flush Toilets - Haggett Hall

Ten ultra-low-flush capacity toilets have been installed on the upper floors of Haggett Hall. This installation was a prelude to a campus wide retrofit project and helped to determine product functionality and reliability. Thanks to Housing and Food Services for their participation.

Ultra-Low-Flush Toilets

Final planning and preparation for a campus-wide toilet replacement program is nearing completion. There are 1500 - 2000 standard toilets on campus which consume 3 to 5 gallons of water per flush (gpf). These will be replaced with the latest generation of ultra-low-flush (ULF) toilets which consume only 1.6 gpf. The project will be installed in-house during swing shift to limit occupant disruption and to maximize installation efficiency. Padelford Hall and Schmitz Hall are the first candidates for retrofit. After the program is completed, it is anticipated that over 25,000,000 gallons of water will be saved per year. At the current combined water and sewer rate the annual savings in avoided costs will be in excess of $250,000. In addition, Seattle Public Utilities will pay a fixed cost incentive rebate of $120 per unit.

I Wing Vacuum Producers

The I-Wing vacuum producers have been installed. We are still awaiting the arrival of their control panels. These screw-type vacuum producers replaced the old liquid-ring units. They are expected to save $25,000 - $27,000 annually in avoided water and sewer charges.

Sterilizer Water Saving Retrofits

In addition to the Steris Corporation, two other manufacturers of water-saving kits for sterilizers have shown an interest in showcasing their products at the University of Washington. Omega Medical, located across the way in Bellevue, and Continental Equipment Company of Kansas City, MO will install their sterilizer water-saving kits in the Health Sciences. Prior to installing water saving kits, sterilizers consume between 0.5 and 2.5 gallons per minute. When completed, about 50 sterilizers will have been retrofitted saving around $170,000 annually in avoided water and sewer costs.

Irrigation Conservation

Our Grounds Shop received an incentive rebate from Seattle Public Utilities in the amount of $5,000. The rebate is for the installation of water conserving irrigation equipment. James Boeckstiegel and Brian Davis of the Grounds Shop are to be commended for their outstanding efforts to conserve water.

Balmer Hall Water Conservation Pilot

This project is completed.

McMahon Kitchen Refrigeration Project

This project is completed.

Seattle Public Utilities Incentives

The University of Washington recently received $102,500 in incentive rebates from SPU for various completed conservation projects.

Electricity Conservation

Nordstrom Tennis Facility Court Lighting

This project would replace existing 400 watt and 1000 watt metal halide tennis court lighting with T-5 fluorescent lighting that should provide superior lighting at a substantial reduction in kWh consumption. Total project cost appears to be on the order of $121,000. The anticipated SCL rebate is approximately $48,000. Projected annual electricity savings could be in the neighborhood of 400,000 kWh equating to $20,000 each year in avoided electrical costs. In addition, maintenance costs including lamp replacement should be reduced by approximately $5,000 annually.

Delta P Valve Installation

Around 1985, the campus chilled water system was converted from a primary-secondary pumping system to a primary only pumping system. At that time, the system was balanced and building cooling temperatures were reset to commence cooling at 78 degrees F. Over the years, with the addition of new buildings, the system no longer balanced causing flow to be erratic. The Delta P valves are expected to provide system balance and conserve primary pumping horsepower. The total cost of the project is estimated at $43,786. The kWh/year savings and associated avoided cost savings will be determined after post installation data monitoring is completed.

Art Occupancy Sensors

Occupancy sensors for lighting have been installed by our Alterations unit on the first floor of the Art Building. This pilot program has two more phases before completion. Phase 2 will be installed Spring Break and Phase 3 during Winter Break. We hope to gain insight into hard costs vs. avoided utility costs for consideration of future installations.

Seattle City Light Incentives

The University of Washington recently received incentive rebates from Seattle City Light in the amount of $208,000 for various conservation projects.