'Green' initiatives are a go in campus facilities

By etu on March 15, 2002, 4:18 p.m.

Walk up to a soda machine on campus these days and you might think it saw you coming.

In a sense, it has. The machine, at first dark and quiet, seems to wake up; the lights turn on; the refrigerator starts humming. It's nothing spooky -- just an energy-saving device installed by the facilities department.

The device is one of many initiatives, ranging from simple adjustments to large-scale programs, aimed at easing the University's impact on the environment and, in most cases, saving it money.

"For as long as I've been here -- 25 years -- we've had a fairly aggressive conservation program," said Michael McKay, general manager of plant and services in the facilities department.

Some of the significant environmental measures are being undertaken as part of new building projects on campus. The new graduate student housing planned for construction next to the Lawrence Apartments, for example, will use geothermal heat pumps, said Tom Nyquist, director of engineering. Many "green" elements also are planned for a new dorm that is scheduled for construction between Elm Drive and Scully Hall.

Across the campus, many buildings also are being retrofitted with energy-saving devices, said Nyquist. Acting on the recommendations of a lighting consultant, the University is slowly changing all of its fluorescent fixtures to more efficient units. The many hundreds of exit signs that used to burn 40-watt bulbs are being replaced with light-emitting diodes that use two to four watts and operate all day.

The full story can be read in the Weekly Bulletin.

Contact: Marilyn Marks (609) 258-3601

Related Stories

Princeton cuts energy use, costs through projects big and small .

In a small room tucked in a corner of Princeton University's MacMillan Building, computer screens cover the wall and line desktops, each displaying a colorful cornucopia of data used to monitor campus energy equipment and limit the University's energy consumption. The University's Energy Management Center is at the hub of aggressive efforts to limit energy usage and costs in buildings across campus, supporting Princeton's comprehensive Sustainability Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

University steps up sustainability efforts .

Behind the blueprints for the myriad construction projects under way on Princeton’s campus is a new set of stipulations regarding their environmental impact. The guidelines, which advocate for both sustainable building and site design, are part of the University’s continuing effort to consider the ecocultural wake it’s leaving on the area.

Princeton continues significant progress toward sustainability goals .

For the second consecutive year since adopting a Sustainability Plan, Princeton University's on-campus greenhouse gas emissions have decreased. Last year, emissions declined for the first time since the University's energy-efficient cogeneration plant was installed in 1996 by a modest amount at nearly 1 percent. Emissions are now down by 2.5 percent since 2008, despite the addition of more than 360,000 square feet of building space.

Princeton takes significant steps toward achieving sustainability goals .

In its first report since adopting a Sustainability Plan in February 2008, Princeton University states that on-campus greenhouse gas emissions have decreased for the first time since the University's energy-efficient cogeneration plant was installed in 1996. While the decrease in carbon dioxide from July 2008 to July 2009 has been modest at nearly 1 percent, "it is a significant step in the right direction," according to the report, considering that the University added nearly 164,000 square feet to its physical plant during the same time period.

The time is now .

Princeton University takes ‘net-zero’ emissions from theory to reality as it enters a new phase of campus development.

900 fill Frist for sustainability open house .

The University's Sept. 17 open house offered more than the promised overview of the many sustainability efforts at the University. The five-hour event, titled "Sustainability: Introducing Princeton's Green Initiatives," engaged the crowd of about 900 in passionate discussions, informative how-tos and participatory next steps.

Students plan green makeover for old factory .

A group of Princeton engineering students is reimagining a 19th-century textile factory as a modern, energy-efficient headquarters for a Trenton nonprofit. Their goal: Save money; save the planet.