Syracuse facility to use half the energy

Once construction is completed, officials plan for the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems' headquarters to use less than half of energy most buildings us as a part of a growing trend called "green" building.

Green buildings are designed and run to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Syracuse CoE works with large and small companies as well as Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry to research and develop new environmentally friendly technology.

Syracuse CoE Executive Director Edward Bogucz, Jr. said the goal is to create a building that will use less than half the energy most other buildings use. This means cooperating with the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. To do this, he said the headquarters must be much more adaptive to changing needs than a normal building.

Innovative heating technology will help accomplish the Syracuse CoE's goal, Bogucz said. The heating system will accommodate changing patterns of occupancy down to specific rooms. It will even allow individuals to control the temperature at their desk area.

"This finer level of control will allow us to save energy," he said. "Our intention for this building is to earn recognition for outstanding energy efficiency."

Bogucz described the successful collaboration with New Climate Air Quality Systems. Through work with SU and ESF faculty and students, the company patented a product that distributes air into a room in a more efficient way than what was previously available.

"Now they're selling" the product, Bogucz said. "It's a great American story."

In Sept. 2005, SU made a commitment to follow the LEED rating system for all renovation and building projects that cost more than $10 million. According to an SU News statement on Nov. 9, 2005, buildings currently in construction -- namely Newhouse III and the Life Sciences Complex -- will not be constructed with LEED certification in mind. This is because schedules and budgets for these buildings were already in place at the time.

Maureen Wakefield, the continuing education coordinator at ESF Outreach, said she doesn't think this is a problem.

Getting LEED certified, she said, "takes quite a commitment and it involves education and a lengthy process. I fully support the LEED system and any efforts to follow and obtain LEED ratings. But I also know that you can use green building strategies without getting certified."

Beyond constructing energy efficient buildings, Wakefield also said she thinks it's important to redefine the way people think about waste.

"Just because something is used, it may not be exhausted," she said. "We need to rethink the way we live our lives and not use the wastebasket as garbage."

Steve Lloyd, the associate director of energy management for SU's Energy and Computing Management department, touched on some of the university's efforts to make existing buildings more efficient.

SU purchases 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources, Lloyd said. He also said there is a chance of increasing the amount of renewable energy purchased, but it will cost roughly 10 to15 percent more than normal energy.

"We have to change slowly so it's not a big shock," he said. "You can change a culture much more effectively through many small changes."

Lloyd described another method of conservation in the campus' buildings, called Virtual Preventive Maintenance. With this computerized system, it is possible to check equipment in the buildings to make sure it's working properly and not wasting energy. About $11 million has been invested in this process - and it saves roughly $1 million each year.

Although Eric Beattie, the director of the Campus Planning, Design and Construction Office at SU, confirmed heating and lighting management are strengths at the university. Planning the campus' space for maximum efficiency is the task his department tackles each day.