UWRF Tops List of Universities for Energy Efficiency

April 15, 2011--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls took the top spot for 2010 among UW System four-year schools in the Energy Use in State-Owned Facilities report.

The State of Wisconsin Department of Administration recently released the report. UW-River Falls recorded an annual 104,920 total BTU for the fiscal year without weather adjustments. The total units with weather adjustments included 104,008. These figures were calculated by taking the thermal heat and electricity values and adding them together.

“Here at the university we keep track of the energy and heat that is used in each building,” says Tim Thum, UWRF university facilities engineer.

Throughout UWRF campus buildings, signs are posted to remind faculty, staff, students and visitors to turn off lights or to conserve water.

“Each building is different depending on the size. Last year a few of the buildings were not being used as much and the thermal and electricity units had decreased,” notes Thum.

Hunt Arena, a popular place for students, has the highest energy use on the UW-River Falls campus at 76,940 BTU. Another popular building, the University Center, is the second highest at 53,558 BTU.

“These values can change overtime. It is an on-going process that can work towards our advantage or can hurt us. This past year UW-River Falls just happened to be more useful in the energy efficient process, ” says Thum.

The Energy Use in State-Owned Facilities report includes the University of Wisconsin System, multiple State of Wisconsin departments, the State Fair Park and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Other universities included in the report include UW-Green Bay, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-Superior and UW-Whitewater.