By Tilly Finley

UK Facilities Management will

begin the largest energy-saving project on campus to date this week.

With the help of Ameresco, an energy service company out of Louisville, UK will be monitoring 20 to 30 buildings across campus to see where the most energy and money can be saved, said Bob Wiseman, vice president for Facilities Management.

The UK Board of Trustees approved the contract with Ameresco in December 2009. After a year-long process of trial audits of 10 campus buildings, including the Chemistry-Physics Building, Ameresco was selected to perform the audits. The project will begin this week with the Funkhouser Building and Miller Hall.

“We already measure our energy uses hourly,” Wiseman said. “Now we are looking at where the most energy is used and how to save.”

The project will require a $25 million budget, which makes it the largest energy-saving project in school history. Ameresco is funding the project, and the company guarantees that the utility savings the audits discover will be sufficient to pay back the investment. If the project does not create enough funds to pay back the $25 million, Ameresco will be responsible for the difference.

“Energy service companies such as Ameresco guarantee that utility savings generated by facility upgrades are sufficient to pay back the capital investment over a set period, generally 11 to 12 years,” said Gail Hairston of UK Public Relations.

Wiseman said he expected that simply reducing energy costs would be enough to pay back the $25 million.

“All of the money is expected to be paid back by savings,” Wiseman said. “The overall goal is to decrease the university’s energy demands by 10 to 15 percent.”

Wiseman said upgrading lighting systems, replacing old plumbing fixtures, repairing pipe insulation and working with students living in residence halls to stress the importance of energy conservation are all strategies UK will use to reduce the overall energy consumption in buildings on campus.

“Probably the same thing your parents are telling you at home … Turn off those lights when you leave the room,” he said.

Ameresco is expected to complete the engineering analysis by this summer. Once the auditing process is complete, the contract will be signed, and construction and repairs will begin. The construction process is expected to take as many as three years, Wiseman said.

The research is done using mostly meter readings, and Wiseman said the auditing will not interfere with campus life.

“Beginning next fall, the campus community will see the effect of this project in everything from lighting to more extensive building retrofits,” he said.