Going Green @ Haverford

Bob Harper

Bob Harper, the  Manager of Central Heating plant and HVAC Services, just clued me in on a great energy web site. I had been attempting to convert oil and natural gas into BTU’s and provide greenhouse gas emissions per-thousand square feet (yeah, I know!!) for the college. He told me not to be insulted but directed me to http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/index.html .  What a great site for explaining energy in simple and easy terms.

So the next time you need to know where natural gas comes from, what states produce oil or if you’re just in the mood for energy sudoku, check out this site.

While not a fully mature roof there’s still plenty to see. It can be seen anytime from the 3rd floor hallway outside the Career Development Office or attend one of our tours scheduled for this summer.

On Wednesday April 15, 2009, the Committee for Environmental Responsibility(CER) will be giving out Compact Florescent Light Bulbs to staff.  A 13 watt Compact Florescent Light Bulb or CFL will save $38.00 in energy costs over the life of the bulb, based on $0.10 per kWh. Uses 75% less energy, saving on energy bills.  One bulb is rated for 8,000 hours, 8 times longer than a conventional bulb. So, head up to Founders for Staff Appreciation Day, enjoy the festivities and get your free bulb.

If you’re on a bike and it’s Wednesday, then wave!

Brought to you by the San Francisco Bike Coalition, www.sfbike.org

Answers to commonly asked questions:

What’s Waving Wednesday?

It’s a simple concept! It’s Wednesday and you’re riding a bicycle. You see someone else on a bicycle. You wave to them. They wave to you.

Does it cost anything to particiapte in Waving Wednesday?

Waving Wednesday only costs about 3 calories per wave.

If I wave on Wednesdays, can I still wave on other days?

Waving to promote cameraderie among cyclists is always encouraged.

What qualifies as a wave?

A wave ‘counts’ when you move your hand back and forth at least 3 times. Nodding or saluting do not count-those salutations can find their own darn days.

        Do I really have to do this?

        Yes, you have to.

The Committee for Environmental Responsibility and The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship is sponsoring a “Go By Bike” workshop series, encouraging community members to bike more. For more information contact ckent@haverford.edu or www.haverford.edu/staff/gobybike/ 

Think it’s no big deal if you leave your computer on when you leave the office? Think again. Haverford’s Director of Facilities Managetment Ron Tola, with the help of Mary Ellen Luongo, Director of Administrative Computing, recently calculated the energy costs of running the College’s computers. Here’s what they determined:

Every Haverford employee who remembers to turn off their computer at the end of the work day, saves the College .56 cents per day in energy costs.  If an employee works 200 days per year that amounts to a savings of $112 in energy costs per year.

If all 186 administrative computers were turned off at the end of the work day,  the total savings in energy costs each year would come to $20, 832.

Add in the weekend and the savings are even bigger. Turning off  all 186 administrative computers for the weekend would save the College $50,294 in energy costs each year.

New signs are going up in the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center aimed at alerting students, faculty and staff to an easy way to help the College save energy, money–and the planet.  “Turn off computers before leaving,” posters were created by visiting assistant professor of physics Anna Sajina, and Bruce Boyes, the KINSC’s research machinist, who are both members of the Committee on Environmental Responsibility.

“We have many computers right here in the KINSC,” says Boyes, “and I’m sure there are more locations on campus  where this message could be posted.”

Want a few to post in your campus building as a friendly green reminder?  email bboyes@haverford.edu

In response to concerns about computer energy consumption, Facilities Management along with Administrative Computing have devised an energy conservation plan directed specifically at computers.

Administrative Computing is currently assembling a list of administrative and academic computers, their model types and typically how much energy they consume. These numbers will be directed to Facilities Management where a calculation of how much energy is used will be converted into a dollar amount.

A list of administrative computers along with their back-up nights will be distributed to the Energy Work Study students. All administration will be asked to turn off computers along with printers, scanners, speakers etc., except for their back-up night. If an employee leaves a computer on, a “friendly reminder” will be left encouraging the user to be more energy aware.

Because of sensitive information on academic and some administrative computers, we will not ask for these computers to be shut down. Directions on how to put computers in a low power state and request that printers and scanners be shut down will be distributed. Students will not enter faculty or sensitive administrative offices for any reason.

Thank you for support and participation in this matter.

The Facilities Management Department has developed an Energy Conservation Awareness Initiative to help mitigate the unprecedented escalation in energy prices that has occurred globally in recent months.

As we face this challenge, we are calling upon our campus community to support this campus initiative by implementing simple changes in energy utilization behaviors that can positively affect operating costs and the environment while relieving some pressure on institutional resources.   We have identified four major awareness components of this program below.
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Green roofs have been around for thousands of years and precursors to the modern green roof, such as sod roofs, have been used in many cultures for centuries.

The modern day green roof uses modern technology such as root barriers, drainage systems and lightweight growing media which allows healthy growing environments at much lighter weights. Lightweight green roofs allow systems to be installed on roofs which normally would not be able to sustain heavy loads, as is the case with Stokes Hall. While some roofs can withstand weights up to 60+ lbs per square foot, Stokes has only been rated for 21 lbs fully saturated.

The system selected for Stokes Hall is an Aromatic Garden “Roofmeadow” system. Because the “soil” or growing media is only 3-4” thick, drought tolerant plants were selected, namely sedums. Sedums will withstand long periods of drought and won’t need supplemental irrigation.

The photograph to the right is Friends Center at 15th and Cherry streets in Philadelphia.  Their system, which is the same as ours, is two years old. This roof is in full bloom.*

Green roofs provide many ecological, aesthetic, and financial benefits, including:

• Controlling stormwater runoff, erosion, and pollution
• Improving water quality
• Mitigating urban heat-island effects, cooling and cleaning the air
• More than doubling the service life of the roof, reducing both costs and landfill
• Conserving energy
• Reducing sound reflection and transmission
• Creating wildlife habitat
• Improving the aesthetic environment in both work and home settings.

*Courtesy of Nate Johnson and Roofscapes Inc.

In response to the comment on the last post, Ron Tola, director of facilities management, tells me that the two units are ground source heat pumps, with one unit for the second floor and another for the third floor of the residence. The lines are buried about 70 feet deep in a “cone” configuration with about 8 vertical members for each unit.

Want to know more about Haverford College’s geothermal wells? Ask the green squirrel.