Energy and Utilities

Energy

The Facilities Management Department has developed an energy management program designed to conserve and promote the cost-effective use of energy. Short- and long-term energy plans include:

• system design and modification
• analysis of building operational profiles
• maintenance recommendations and procedures

Everyone is encouraged to conserve energy by:

• turning off lights when areas are unoccupied or when there is sufficient natural light
• regulating thermostats to provide 68 degrees in winter and 75 degrees in summer
• closing stairwell doors and fire doors.

Utility Connections

All modifications, alterations, and connections to utility systems must be performed by, or under the direction of, the Facilities Management Department. This requirement applies to all utilities at the university, including gas, chilled and heated water, compressed air, and condensate lines.

Central Power and Heating Plant

Since 2013, facilities had been researching options for upgrading our central heating plant in the sub-basement of Woodruff Hall. Built as one of the three original campus buildings in 1929, the plant has been running boilers installed in 1948. Various proposals were reviewed for installing new equipment, including a co-generation system in the central heating plant which could supply up to 40% of the Garden City campus energy needs.

In 2015, partnering with Ecosystem Energy Services, and First American Educational Finance, Adelphi embarked on a major infrastructure upgrade of the central heating plant. The project included the replacement of the existing boilers with 4 new state-of-the-art, high efficiency boilers, and 2.0 megawatt (MW) co-generation system.

The central heating plant was put online in August of 2016.

As of March 1, 2018, the central heating plant unit has run for over 10,000 hours, and has generated over 18,000 Mwh of electricity (1 Mw can power 800-1,000 average homes).

This output also reduced our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by an estimated 12,487 metric tons. This is equal to removing 2,751 vehicles from the road for one year.

NYSERDA Rebates
The project qualified for $2,501,873 in rebates from the New York State Energy Research Development Authority. These rebates were a critical component of the financing of the project.

The projected energy savings were expected to exceed the lease payments by approximately $150,000 per year. Actual savings appear to be trending higher with the average annual savings to be $200,000.

The project payback period is approximately 9.5 years with all savings from the operation being put back into additional energy efficiency projects on campus.