2004 BEST Awards

The Conservation Project Development Team (CPDT) will be submitting an application on behalf of the University of Washington for the 2004 Seattle BEST Award. BEST stands for Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow. BEST presents awards to honor organizations that operate more efficiently through conservation and/or pollution prevention practices. Winners will be honored at a major public ceremony in May 2004, promoted to the media and business and industry associations as well as highlighted on Web sites and in newsletters and case studies.

Water Conservation Projects

Toilet Replacement Program

The Toilet Replacement program has been in full swing during the fourth quarter of 2003. Plant Services plumbing crews have installed 670 Ultra Low Flush (ULF) toilets replacing the existing toilets in the following buildings:

• Padelford
• Schmitz
• Condon
• Gould
• Communications
• Meany
• Miller
• Hall Health
• Henderson
• Kane
• Denny
• OUGL
• MHSC A-wing
• MHSC AA-wing
• MHSC B-wing
• MHSC BB-wing
• MHSC C-wing
• MHSC D-wing
• MHSC E-wing
• MHSC F-wing
• MHSC G-wing
• MHSC H-wing
• MHSC I-wing
• MHSC J-wing
• MHSC K-wing
• MHSC RR-wing

The total labor and material costs to date are $266,300. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) rebates $120 per unit equaling $80,400. Annual water savings are estimated to be 52,844,924 gallons which should provide annual avoided water costs of $490,722.

The number of toilets replaced to date represents about 40% of the estimated total to be upgraded with ULF fixtures.

Water-free Urinals

Over 100 water-free urinals have replaced conventional urinals on campus. 100 additional units have arrived and will be installed during 2004. The majority of these will replace urinals in the MHSC and a few will be installed in the IMA men’s locker room. It is estimated that when the next 100 water-free urinals are installed the University will be saving about 8,000,000 gallons of water every year. That equates to around $75,000 every year in avoided water expenditures.

Sterilizer Water Saving Retrofits

The Health Sciences sterilizer water saving retrofit project was completed this quarter. The project was contracted at a fixed cost of $96,000. 26 million gallons of water will be saved annually as a result of this work. The University’s water bill should be reduced by $250,000 every year. The anticipated SPU rebate is $30,000 and the simple payback period is about four months.

Urinal Flush Valve Retrofits

Alterations staff working on the toilet replacement program are simultaneously retrofitting certain urinals with water saving flush valve kits. Prior data gathered from the Balmer Hall test site revealed that by retrofitting these urinals with more efficient flush valves reduces their water consumption by 10%.

Bloedel Hall Water Distiller Replacement

The water distiller located in the upper mechanical room of Bloedel Hall will be replaced with a new efficient model. The existing antiquated distiller consumes about five gallons of water per minute. Replacing it is estimated to cost about $30,000, however, by doing so the University will save $25,000 annually in avoided water costs.

Electricity Conservation

Law School Energy Analysis

Delta P Valve Pilot Project

The ongoing Delta P valve pilot project continues to study the potential for future application of Delta P valves within the campus chilled water system. Delta P (differential pressure) valves provide an automatic method of regulating chilled water flow to cooling coils. Data collected during the 2003 cooling season is inconclusive due to delays installing the necessary monitoring devices to accumulate comparative data. There appears to be a wide variation in potential savings that necessitates continued monitoring during the 2004 cooling season.

Student Solar Array Project - Mechanical Engineering

Final design work continues on the Student Solar Array Project to be installed at Mechanical Engineering this March.

Lighting Retrofits

SCL has given their approval to move forward with lighting retrofit projects at Fluke Hall and Allen Library. Materials will be ordered to begin the projects Spring Quarter. The Fluke Hall retrofit will be installed first. Fluke is estimated to cost $40,000 before an anticipated incentive rebate of $10, 860 and is expected to save 108,580 kWh annually. Allen Library’s work is estimated to cost $190,000 before an anticipated rebate of $64,370 and should save around 478,000 kWh per year. Combined annual savings through avoided electricity costs for these projects are estimated to exceed $29,000.

New Technology Exit Light Upgrades

A recent survey determined that many of the exit signs in our campus buildings still use incandescent and fluorescent lamps as their light source. These will be retrofitted or replaced with panels using a type of electroluminescent known as Light Emitting Capacitors (LEC). First used in military aircraft, LEC consists of a thin layer of zinc sulfide phosphorus-impregnated material sandwiched between two layers of conducting material, one of which is transparent. The phosphorus layer produces light when voltage is applied across the two conductive layers. LEC light panels use only 1/4 watt of electricity compared to incandescent, fluorescent or LED which ranges between 2.8 to 40 watts in a typical exit sign. Other advantages of LEC panels are perfect uniform illumination and maintenance-free operation.

Elevators / Miscellaneous Capital Projects

The following solid state drive elevator projects accomplished in 2003 have been approved by SCL for incentive rebates:

Other Capital Projects approved by SCL for incentive rebates in 2003: