F&S Utilities & Energy Services (UES) performs some of the most important work on campus, producing and distributing steam, water, and electricity across 24M gross square feet, more than 600 buildings, and to a ‘town’ of more than 50,000 students and 10,000 employees.
So, when building experts and facility managers perform renovations, retrocommmissioning, or other work that reduces energy consumption, recognition is in order!
The Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) awards shine a light on individual buildings and actions taken that help the larger campus community hit goals laid out in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).
The iCAP is the strategic plan for how this campus will meet our Climate Leadership Commitments—to be carbon neutral as soon as possible and to build resilience with our local community. The energy conservation goals in the iCAP 2020 include one of particular interest to units: “Reduce the total annual energy consumption of each college-level unit by at least 20% from an FY15 baseline by FY35.” The ECIP awards this year honored winners from the past two years.
University-owned buildings of 10,000 square feet or more on the Urbana campus are automatically entered in the program each year. Previously winning buildings are eligible to win again, and there are often repeat winners.
Buildings compete in one of two categories: occupant action and energy advancement. Four winners are chosen from each category. Occupant action includes things that building users can initiate themselves to collectively reduce energy use, such as building and operation improvement projects, turning off lights when they leave a room, and other energy efficiency measures. Energy advancement includes energy conservation improvements to the building itself, such as optimizing heating and air conditioning systems and controls.
Winners!
Lifetime Achievement Awardee: Kent Reifsteck
After each of the winners were named, Rob Roman, director of UES, honored his predecessor Kent Reifsteck, who helped kick-start many energy savings programs at F&S, including the ECIP Awards. Reifsteck received the ECIP lifetime achievement award for innovation and leadership in energy efficiency at Illinois. Roman estimated that Reifsteck’s programs had helped avoid more than $300M in energy costs throughout his tenure.
“The thing I think is very apparent is the team that is here is doing the good work. That’s the best: get the right people together that have the desire to do the right thing on their own, and give them the resources they need and they do it,” Reifsteck said. “I forgot how big some of these savings numbers are but it’s really impressive.”