Iowa State is one of the nation’s leading colleges in biorenewable technologies, but how well does Iowa State do when it comes to implementing energy-saving technologies?

All of the buildings built or renovated on campus since Howe Hall was built have included new energy efficient technology, said David Miller, former co-chairman of the energy efficiency task force and director of facilities and utilities for facilities planning and management.

“We’re quite proud of our new buildings like Gerdin, Howe Hall and Hoover,” he said. “Some of the new strategies and new equipment are really making a difference.”

Miller said the Gerdin Business Building was in the planning stages when energy efficient technology was beginning to be implemented.

“We have included more sensors so we can have more individual control,” he said. “It has occupancy sensors, so if there is a person in it, the air flow will turn up, and if there isn’t someone in there, it will lower the airflow. We are turning on and off lights with that too.”

All of these energy efficient technologies have added up to significant savings, Miller said. In 2006, $20,940 was saved in energy costs in the Gerdin Business Building, and it is predicted it will save $13,309 this year, according to the ISU energy Web site.

Another building that is saving a lot of energy is Agronomy Hall. In 2006, $41,941 was saved and the building is predicted to save $65,276 this year. Agronomy Hall was named an “Energy Hero” in 2006 for the energy it saved.

All of this energy has been saved through the energy plan the task force came up with a few years ago.

“We have separate plans for every building because every building is different,” Miller said. “We look at things like if we don’t need it, why don’t we shut it off, or scale it back and change temperature settings?”

He said the temperature settings apply to most buildings. This means that during the summer, thermostats are kept at 76 degrees, and during the winter they are kept at 70 degrees. Other energy saving methods the task force tries to teach is to unplug and turn off items.

“We try to educate faculty, staff and students to do things like turn off their printer, computer and lights when they are not there,” said Alicia Carriquiry, former energy efficient task force member and professor of statistics.

Turning off a personal computer at night and on weekends can save $44 annually. Turning off a copy machine at night and on the weekends can save $52 annually. Downsizing from a 120 cubic foot refrigerator to a 3 cubic foot refrigerator can save $143 annually.

Other ways the university saves energy is through buildings having operating hours, which means the temperature is warmer or colder – depending on the season – during non-operational hours, according to the energy savings Web site. The plan also promotes reduced indoor and outdoor lighting levels, the unplugging of drinking fountains, unplugging, removing or charging a fee for employee heaters, refrigerators and coffee pots. All the little things can help a lot, Miller said.

“Look around and see what is in your area,” he said. “When we saved $5.7 million, we did not save it $100,000 at a time; it was people doing little things.”

Although Iowa State has saved around $5.7 million since 2002, the total savings has declined each year. In 2006, only $334,628 was saved, compared to $1.5 million each of the previous three years.

“We’re kind of disappointed in that,” Miller said. “The savings have been eroded in energy exemptions.”

Energy exemptions are for people who feel they cannot meet the requested energy saving standards.

Exemptions include plant, animal, and human subjects, computer laboratorys, sensitive laboratory equipment, off-hours activity, health conditions and others.

Anyone can make the request, but the dean or vice president of the college must sign it.

“We always honor it,” Miller said. “Who honestly knows what they need more than that person. We aren’t here to put them out of business.”

Miller said another reason for the decline is the way the issue was presented.

“It was presented as a budget problem, and now people seem to think the budget has been solved,” he said. “There seems to be apathy.”

Carriquiry thinks people have forgotten.

“The first year, we saved a lot,” she said. “People need to be constantly reminded, people forget.”

The university does not do enough “easy fixes,” Carriquiry said.

“It would be very simple to replace all the light systems so they are motion detected,” she said. “I think there could be a lot to be done.”

Robert Anex, associate director of the office of biorenewables program and associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, said the university does not implement the energy efficient technology because of financial reasons.

“I think that probably lots of reason exist that the university and citizens in general don’t use things like lighting and energy efficient systems is because they cost more at first,” he said.

“Universities are always strapped for cash, and energy conservation isn’t high on that list, especially if we don’t have the money for it.”

Although the technologies are expensive at first, Anex said they pay for themselves in the long run and could be implemented even in “energy intensive” places such as laboratories. He said laboratories use a huge amount of energy because the air in the rooms has to be fresh all the time, cycling in and out constantly.

“It has to be fresh because if any chemicals are in the air, it could cause problems,” Anex said.

“What this means is you take air from outside and heat it or air condition it, and with labs, before it’s had time to get warm or get cold, you’re pushing it back outside. Usually, you aren’t doing that; usually it goes through the whole building first.”

A solution to this problem is an airflow system that uses sensors. The sensors would be able to detect when a spill occurs in the room, Anex said. When this occurs the airflow would be increased, cycling the chemicals in the air outside. This way, airflow would only be increased when it is really needed.

Anex said the university does a good job in some areas, such as encouraging people to walk and ride the buses, but thinks more could be done with its own vehicles.

“The university has a very large fleet of vehicles, and we do have flex fuel vehicles, but we are the only one of the regent universities who doesn’t have an E-85 pump,” he said. “I think it’s embarrassing. We have top researching in the country and are leading the way in biofuels, but we don’t use biofuels on campus.”

Iowa State not using biofuels is a good reason for people to be more efficient, Carriquiry said.

“The university doesn’t use renewable energy, so everything we use doesn’t get renewed,” she said. “If we save money on energy, we can use it towards other things like academic programs. It is simply a waste of money to leave lights on and contribute negatively to the environment, and use money that could be put to better use.”

Miller feels the key to saving more energy is educating people and getting them to talk about the issue.

“I’m encouraging university groups to have a dialogue,” he said. “I know residence halls are meeting to find out what they can do. If people learn to shut things off, it adds up really, really fast, and that’s how we have saved $5.7 million.”

Faculty, staff and students can find out more ways to save money at the energy savings Web site, www.fpm.iastate.edu/utilities/energy efficiency.