"University Park is more like a small city than a college," he said. "I'm amazed at the effort that Penn State and OPP staff put forth to conserve energy on campus."
The state's Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP), implemented on campus by the Office of Physical Plant (OPP), pays for new technologies and conservation techniques, which are funded by the energy savings over a 10-year period.
If OPP anticipates saving $100,000 per year by changing from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs, in 10 years they will save about $1 million.
Thus, they are permitted under the GESP to borrow $1 million to fund the changing of all the light bulbs, Laura Miller, OPP energy program engineer and GESP coordinator, said.
Miller said conventional incandescent light bulbs last about 700 hours, while compact fluorescent bulbs can last up to 10 years.
Paul Ruskin, OPP spokesman, explained that OPP noticed the lighting in the campus buildings was not as efficient as it could be, so OPP engineers asked themselves how they could improve the quality and efficiency of the lighting in the buildings.
In fact, the first phase of the programs involved changing the light bulbs in 15 campus buildings, but soon expanded to testing more efficient showerheads, fixtures and toilets in Porter, Shunk and Atherton residence halls, Miller said.
OPP expects to save 5 million gallons of water per year because of these changes, she added.
As phase two of this program proceeds, OPP is totally renovating Noll Lab, replacing heating and cooling systems and retrofitting the lab with other changes to fit the unique energy needs of the building, Miller said.
Another step toward increased energy efficiency, she said, has come with the way coal is stored and burned at the West Campus Steam Plant.
In the past, the coal being stored outside had gathered too much moisture. Natural gas had to be added so the coal would burn at the proper temperature.
With money from the GESP, OPP is building a protective structure over the coal so less natural gas will be needed to facilitate the coal burning over the winter months, she said.
Miller said money could be loaned to the university through the GESP that will be paid back with the extra money no longer needed to buy natural gas over the next 10 years.
At times, outside contractors called Energy Service companies (ESCOs) are hired to complete the work on campus, and the rest of the time OPP maintenance employees do the work, she said.
Miller added that these companies offer cutting-edge technology to Penn State when they are hired to do renovation work.
OPP is not the only group looking into energy-saving techniques on campus, she said.
"Students and student groups as well as professors and faculty often call about new technologies we could use or to report something that is wasting energy on campus," Miller said. "If it's a major energy savings and we think we can do the project with a 10-year payback, we may try it."
Through his research, Saas said he was pleased to see state and university employees working together to reach a mutual agreement on what to do conserve energy in Pennsylvania.
Penn State is setting an example for other campuses, Miller said.
"Penn State has taken a lead in energy conservation in the Big Ten with the retrofits we are making," she said. "Indiana and Purdue universities and the University of Michigan have all contacted OPP for information of setting up and budgeting for similar programs."
In addition, because GESP is a state-regulated program, state prisons, school districts and hospitals are also implementing similar energy-control and conservation systems, Miller said.
Ruskin said he often receives calls from municipalities and homeowners who are interested in Penn State's programs, asking what they can do in their own towns or homes to save energy.
The GESP has become a very successful program here at Penn State, and OPP expects even more benefits from it in the future, he said.
Miller and Ruskin both attributed much of the program's success to the leadership and environmental vision of H. Ford Stryker, associate vice president of OPP.
While the GESP saves Penn State a great deal of money and energy each day, the individual is just as important, Ruskin said.
"Every unneeded light that someone leaves on almost always is going to end up causing pollution in Pennsylvania" because of the energy that must be produced, he said.
Saas said Penn State can be used as a model for everyone in the state.
"Penn State has 42,000 students and is very knowledgeable about energy issues and very efficient as a whole," he said. "If Penn State can do it, one single person can do it, too."
Miller summarized the program as a balance between economics and nature.
"On the one side you have the economy, and on the other side the environment and energy," she said. "We are trying to bring the economists and ecologists together for a better society."
