Carolina Wattbusters Crush Wolfpack Kilowatters

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the winners of its first ever National Building Competition. Participants were challenged to measure their energy use and reduce wasted energy with support from the Energy Star program. Their energy performance was tracked from September 1, 2009 through August 31st, 2010.

From a building over 100 years old in New York City to an elementary school in the mountains of Colorado, a shopping center to a hotel, and many types of buildings in between, these teams from around the country worked hard to slim down their energy use.

Together, the 14 competitors reduced their energy consumption by over 44 million kBtu’s, saved more than $950,000 on their utility bills, and reduced their carbon dioxide emissions an equivalent of the electricity used by 600 homes for a period of one year.

Contestants were judged on the percent reduction achieved in their Energy Use Intensity, or EUI. A building’s EUI is calculated by taking the total energy consumed in one year (measured in kBtu) and dividing it by the total floorspace of the building.

For example, if a 50,000-square-foot school consumed 7,500,000 kBtu of energy last year, its EUI would be 150. A similarly sized school that consumed 9,000,000 kBtu of energy last year would have a higher EUI (180) to reflect its higher energy use. Generally, a low EUI signifies good energy performance.

The winner was a building from right here in the Triangle! Morrison Residence Hall on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill went from a starting EUI of 213 to a final EUI of 137, a 35.7% reduction. Morrison is a 10 story, 217,522 square foot, 850 occupant residence hall constructed in 1965. It was renovated in 2007 to provide central heating and air conditioning to all rooms and to install solar hot water panels.

Second place went to the Sears in Glen Burnie, MD and the third place finisher was the JC Penney in Orange, CA. Another triangle campus dormitory – Tucker Hall at NC State University – was in the running and finished in 8th place. Tucker dropped their EUI from 172 to 154, a 10.3% reduction.

For more information on the contestants, strategies used to reduce energy consumption, or to apply for the 2011 contest (applications must be received by February 25th, 2011), visit www.energystar.gov/buildingcontest.