UNLV Sustainability

Photovoltaic Laminates for Lied Library

2007-12-13T11:04:00.003-08:00

Intended Outcome:
•To produce renewable energy on UNLV’s most iconic building.
•To generate enough electricity to cover interior lighting demands and help reduce summer peak-load energy use on campus.

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Metrics:
•Initial Cost: $818,250.00 *
•Installed PV Capacity: 146 KW
•Annual Energy Produced: 243,212 KWh
•Cost of Produced Energy: $0.339 per KWh
•Simple Payback: 30 years*
•Off-site energy savings: YES, 243,212 KWh per year
•Off-site water savings: YES, 1,763,287 gallons per year
* Excluding $120,000.00 Nevada Power rebate http://www.solargenerations.com/downloads/NetMeteringAgreement_NPC.pdf

Case Studies / Precedents:
•University of Buffalo
http://wings.buffalo.edu/ubgreen/energyforthefuture/energy/ubssystem.htm
http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings/building?id=norton
•Georgetown University
http://www.thehoya.com/news/032304/news7.cfm
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/1905/GEORGETOWN.html

UNLV Green Dorm

2007-12-13T11:04:00.001-08:00

Intended Outcome:
•To provide a campus-wide awareness on the environmental, economic, and social benefits of living in a “Green Dorm”.
•To reduce the energy consumption of the UNLV dormitory buildings.

Rationale & Background:
During “Fresh(wo)men Connection” students can be exposed to the benefits of sustainable living by providing a student pamphlet with suggestions on how to create and live in a Green Dorm Room.
Encouraging a friendly floor-to-floor “Green Dorm” competition overseen by the Resident Hall Advisors and Campus Housing could result in increased camaraderie and a significant reduction in the dormitories energy use.

Metrics:
•Initial Cost for UNLV: $0
•Initial Cost for students: $292 / student ($584,000 for 2,000 students)*
•Annual Energy Savings: 1,470,500 KWh
•Cost of Saved Energy: $0.157 per KWh, paid by the students
($0 for UNLV)
•Simple Payback: 4 years and 2 months for each student
(Immediate for UNLV)
•Off-site water savings: YES, 10,661,125 gallons / year
•Off-site energy savings: YES, 69,297 KWh / year
* Initial Cost is the extra money paid to purchase Energy Star appliances for a dorm room, as opposed to typical dorm appliances.

Case Studies / Precedents:
•Oregon State Green Dorm Room Competition:
http://oregonstate.edu/uhds/current_students/energy
•Tulane Energy Star Showcase Dorm Room: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=higher_ed.bus_dormroom
•Pitzer College New Residence Hall-Highest LEED Rating (Gold) Ever Awarded: http://www.pitzer.edu/sustainability/07_res_hall_tour_brochure.pdf

Campus-wide Bike & Water-Refill Stations

2007-12-13T11:03:00.001-08:00

Intended Outcome:
•To provide the UNLV campus community with bike transportation network & water-refill stations.
•To promote a social climate that embraces the use of alternative transportation systems and waste reduction.

Rationale & Background:
Simple bike & water-refill stations placed in strategic locations on campus would provide a quick transportation and hydration solution for students. A new sustainability-driven aesthetic can develop on the UNLV campus increasing the visibility of university efforts.

Similar programs have been used in many locations worldwide, including the cities of Portland, Austin, and Amsterdam. By combining the element of water refill, these stations will also reduce the waste produced by plastic water bottles.
Features:

PV Shade: powers the system
Water Refill: Re-use plastic bottles
Swipe and Ride: Support Bike use on campus
Education: The back of the stations can be used as an information display

Case Studies / Precedents:
•Yellow Bike Program. Austin, TX:
http://c2.com/ybp/story.html
•Communal Bike Program. Paris, France:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/world/europe/16paris.html?pagewanted=all
•Copenhagen's City Bike Program:
http://www.bycyklen.dk/english/thecitybikeandcopenhagen.aspx

CDC Roof Research Project

2007-12-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Intended Outcome:
•To investigate different roof system options to reduce the cooling loads and overall energy use of the Central Desert Complex (CDC).

Rationale & Background:
The rooftops of the CDC provide an excellent opportunity to study the viability of nontraditional roof materials/systems in a desert environment.
The CDC was conceived as a series of temporary structures to accommodate university and faculty offices. The 12 structures included in the CDC have the same floor area and similar internal gains, making them therefore good candidates for a side-by-side comparison of passive and active roof systems.
The NEAT Lab at the School of Architecture is currently evaluating the thermal performance of both green roofs and roofponds in small-scale test cells.

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Research Proposal Information:

•12 buildings, 60’ x 60’ each (3,600 ft2).
•Similar uses: offices and labs.
Systems to be Tested:
•Green Roofs: Green roofs require little maintenance and provide storm water retention as well as insulation resulting in reduced cooling loads.
•Radiant Panels: Radiant ceiling panels can be successfully used to cool (and heat) the CDC offices using less energy.
•Roofponds: Heating and cooling can be provided by installing water containers located on the roof to absorb solar energy (winter) or internally produced heat (summer), thus reducing the energy used for heating and cooling.
•On-site energy savings: YES
•Off-site water savings: YES

Case Studies / Precedents:
•Natural Energies Advanced Technologies
Laboratory
www.unlv.edu/labs/neatl
•Green Roof Systems in Athens, Greece
Renewable Energy- Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 173-177
• ASLA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
http://www.asla.org/land/050205/greenroofcentral.html