Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Energy Infrastructure Upgrade to Save Georgia Tech $11.7M

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/26/22

Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., recently partnered with facility energy solutions provider ABM Industries to upgrade campus STEM labs—and save about $11.7 million across ten years in the process.

The university discovered that about 30 percent of campus energy use came from 5 percent of its square footage. After identifying that campus lab spaces were consuming such a high proportion of energy, it set about looking for ways to cut lab space energy cost, reduce its carbon footprint and provide safe and reliable working environments.

According to a news release, an energy savings performance contract with ABM led to the decision to upgrade fume hood controls for about 140 lab spaces around campus with no upfront cost. During the 2020 fiscal year, the project reduced energy consumption in two campus buildings—the ES&T and UA Whitaker science buildings—by 73.7 percent and 52.7 percent, respectively. It also surpassed the guaranteed utility cost savings with an additional reduction of $173,167.

The fume hoods and snorkels have new safety controls that help improve the cost-effectiveness of proper ventilation and increase reliability. On-site technicians also now receive real-time data that allows them to respond to performance issues that could decrease airflow or result in potentially expensive downtime. The collective set of data also allows for ease of preventative maintenance to optimize performance.

Georgia Tech Energy Infrastructure Upgrade

The installation also meant coordinating with research teams around campus to minimize disruption to millions of dollars’ worth of ongoing research project. ABM coordinated with Georgia Tech leadership, Environmental Health and Safety, lab safety officers and research teams to complete the necessary work in each given lab space in less than a week.

“This project required a high level of coordination among a wide range of stakeholders to balance safety, functionality and efficiency while conforming to a very tight design and construction schedule,” said Greg Spiro, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Design and Construction at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “The ABM team completed construction ahead of schedule and the project has helped reduce energy usage.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.