University of California, Irvine, Smart Labs Initiative: How to Apply It at Your Facilities

Wendell Brase, University of California, Irvine
Matthew Gudorf, University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine's award-winning Smart Labs Initiative is a proven, comprehensive energy-savings program that involves re-engineering building control systems in already-energy-efficient laboratory buildings from bottom to top to safely reduce energy consumption by an average of 60 percent. Smart Labs is the cornerstone of the campus's partnership in President Obama's Better Buildings Challenge, which the university joined in 2011 with a commitment to reduce electricity use on the main campus by 20 percent by 2020.  Largely because of its Smart Labs program, UC Irvine has already met that goal, having achieved a 23 percent reduction in source energy use in just five years (against a baseline established in 2008).

Although UC Irvine had embarked on an aggressive energy savings program in 1991, by 2008 the campus realized it needed a game-changing strategy to adapt to today's energy environment. UCI needed to make a sizeable reduction in its carbon footprint to meet the University of California's policy goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions system-wide to year 2000 levels by 2014 and to 1990 levels by 2020 as required the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) and UC's Sustainable Practices Policy. As a signatory to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, UC had also committed to achieving carbon neutrality “as soon as feasible.” UC President Janet Napolitano has since taken this a step further, announcing in 2013 that the University will be carbon neutral by 2025.

Wendell Brase, UCI's Vice Chancellor for Administrative & Business Services, and Campus Energy Manager Matt Gudorf will explain UCI's experience with Smart Labs and provide information to help participants evaluate the potential of implementing Smart Labs at their own institutions.

Learning Objectives

  • Participants will gain an understanding of the true, proven potential of term “deep energy efficiency” when applied to comprehensive laboratory retrofits.
  • Participants will understand the risk vs. benefit balance in the decision to pursue a Smart Labs retrofit program.
  • Participants will understand the broad elements of a “smart lab” design/retrofit and where the savings and efficiencies derive compared to past best practices.
  • Participants will gain an understanding of how to evaluate their own facilities with an eye toward establishing Smart Labs programs at their own institutions

Biographies:

Wendell Brase co-chairs UC President Janet Napolitano's Global Climate Leadership Council and leads an award-winning sustainability program in his role as Vice Chancellor for Administrative and Business Services at the University of California, Irvine. Under his leadership, UCI was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a 2014 Climate Leadership Award for Organizational Leadership for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change.

Matt Gudorf has led UC Irvine's energy management group for the last 4 years. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a Certified Energy Manager. The culmination of his leadership has been record breaking energy efficiency project completion under the UC/CSU/IOU Energy Efficiency Partnership in 2012 and 2013. Matt's work as the Campus Energy Manager has focused on all aspects of energy management.

 

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