The University of Texas at Austin is on track to achieve first-year savings of $500,000 after installing energy-efficiency software for its on-campus heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.
The university expects to recover its investment on the software in a little more than a year.
Seattle-based Optimum Energy LLC installed its OptimumHVAC software at UT's Chilling Station 6. Optimum Energy said results from the first 30 days of full operation show the chilling plant is on target to reduce energy consumption by 6 million kilowatt-hours this year.
An average U.S. home uses about 8,900 kilowatt-hours worth of electricity annually.
"Today, our on-site utility system self-generates 100 percent of the main campus' electricity, steam and chilled water using the same amount of power as we did in 1977, even with the addition of 8 million square feet," said Juan Ontiveros, executive director of utilities and energy management at UT.
Chilling Station 6 is one of four plants within the university's cooling system, which serves the campus' 17 million square feet of buildings.
OptimumHVAC continuously adjusts the chillers, pumps and tower fans in Chilling Station 6 to maintain cooling and boost equipment efficiency based on real-time conditions.
For information about UT utility projects, visit www.utexas.edu/utilities/projects.
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