Playing on the Same Team: A Case Study of The University of Texas at Austin's Energy Management Program

摘要

At The University of Texas at Austin, we have outlined a very aggressive energy reduction goal of 20 percent of total education and general campus energy by the year 2020 with a baseline of 2009. In 2012, an internal energy management group was established to work towards this goal along with other campus partners. Focusing on low- to no-cost measures due to financial constraints, the program team directed their efforts towards initiatives that included both technical energy conservation measures utilizing building controls and several behavior-based programs to change the culture of campus and internal operations personnel. These efforts, along with other events on campus, have resulted in a current energy avoidance of 16.4 percent, and a cost avoidance of $16.5 million (the fully burdened rate) since December 2014. For the team, the program blurs the lines between technical and behavioral energy conservation measures (ECMs) that drive both the external and internal change of how the university operates. This paper highlights how Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOM) restructured their operations to focus on energy conservation; the development of the Energy and Water Conservation Program; and key technical initiatives and behavior-based programs that have been implemented in order to drive changes in operations and culture.