Moving forward with a growing list of construction projects, U administrators have been particular when deciding which structures will be built to satisfy strict environmental and energy standards.
Although some projects will be built based on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, a certification reserved for the most eco-friendly buildings, the U will follow a state-designed plan to make buildings greener, shying away from LEED certification because of high costs involved.
“The issue with LEED is it costs money to become certified,” said Mike Perez, U associate vice president of facilities management.
LEED is a national building-energy efficiency ranking program established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Health Science Education building is the only LEED-certified building on campus. The Sutton Geology and Geophysics building is currently being built to LEED standards.
Wayne Peay, director of the health sciences library, said making the Health Sciences building LEED efficient added $140,000 to a $40-million price tag.
Peay said the U could have saved money on the project if they had followed LEED standards from the beginning instead of making the decision after the design process had begun.
In order to certify the Health Sciences Education building, the construction process was altered.
Workers could not smoke or eat on the site. Recycled materials were used and more than 70 percent of the waste from construction was recycled. Energy-efficient lighting systems, shades and glass were implemented. Before construction was complete, the building was closed and all toxic fumes were aired out.
Although the building cost more, Peay said having buildings LEED certified actually saves money over time due to decreased utility costs. He said the building is 23 percent more efficient because of LEED.
“I think every building on campus should be LEED certified,” Peay said. “People don’t think in long-term investments.”
The U’s energy plan is based on state guidelines for “high performance buildings standards,” which mandate that all construction projects be built with energy-efficient products, establish new energy standards and meet requirements on the high performance building rating system.
Curtis Clark of the State Division of Facilities Construction and Management said the state’s rating for green buildings would be about the equivalent of a LEED building with a silver ranking. Curtis is the local chairman of LEED.
In 2005, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an executive order for all city-owned and controlled buildings to be LEED certified. The U is exempt from this rule because it is a separate building entity.
The LEED system awards buildings a total of 69 points in five categories: sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality.
Depending on the number of points received, buildings are given a rating of certified, silver, gold or platinum. The Health Sciences Education building has a silver rating and the Geophysics building will be gold.
In the state plan, buildings need to achieve at least 20 of the 43 “sustainability credits.”
Curtis said that by following the first two parts of the state plan, buildings can become between 10 and 25 percent more efficient. With the third part, they can have a 20 to 40 percent improvement over the standard building, he said.
“The U is aggressively trying to go beyond (state standards),” Curtis said.
The Warnock Engineering building acted as a “beta site” to establish standards for the state plan, Perez said.
Because the Marriott Library construction began before the U’s energy policy was made, it was not designed with either certifications in mind, said U Director of Campus Design and Construction Randall Funk.
The library is being built with better insulation, more environmentally friendly glass and better heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, he said.
The new Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities building will be built to the state’s standards, with a possibility of achieving a LEED rating.
Perez said the U is continuously doing renovations on existing buildings, such as replacing lighting, installing more efficient sprinkler systems and even generating its own electricity for high-temperature water so the U can retire less efficient boilers.
A behavioral specialist walks through campus buildings every evening to remind building occupants to make better use of power. Run-times of buildings are adjusted so power is only being used when people are in the building.
“There never is any one silver bullet that says we’ve done this for efficiency and we’re done,” Perez said. “It’s an ongoing awareness?we’re doing things like this all the time.”