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Pittsburg State University

Pittsburg, Kansas

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Background

Located in the southeast corner of Kansas, Pittsburg State University (PSU) is a campus of more than 7,000 students where the student-to-faculty ratio is 19-to-1. In 2010, PSU officials made sustainability one of its six strategic goals, vowing to undertake a multi-year effort to reduce waste, maximize energy savings, and educate students, faculty and staff about best energy practices.

Challenge

When determining how to proceed with a sustainability plan, PSU officials were charged with identifying energy efficiencies that would help the university lower its carbon footprint and reduce costs. Any measures taken to protect the environment also had to be compatible with PSU’s requirements to carefully manage finances so that state funding and tuition dollars were spent wisely.

Solution

During the development process, PSU officials turned to Energy Solutions Professionals (ESP), whose team had previously performed successful energy conservation projects for the university, to design and install a geothermal heat pump system that would heat and cool McPherson Hall and Timmons Chapel. Numerous other energy efficiency measures were also included in the overarching plan to conserve energy, including utility submeters to track usage at each building.

Benefits

PSU has delivered quickly on its strategic goal of reducing energy consumption and lowering utility bills. The geothermal system, which was projected to pay for itself in 19.5 years, delivered electrical savings that exceeded the projections by 158 percent in the first year. PSU received $1 million in federal stimulus money and other grants to help offset the cost of the energy improvements for the entire energy project. 

Project Snapshot

Pittsburg State University
1701 S. Broadway Street
Pittsburg , Kansas
66762

Completion Date
2012

Total Square Feet
267,746

Number of Buildings
28

Total Project Cost
$5,485,000

Annual Savings
$515,845

Carbon Footprint Reduction
13,006,706 pounds of CO2e

Environmental Impact
Equivalent of saving 663,862 gallons of gasoline

Improvements

Client Type

Team

Coleen Flathman Jeff Flathman Sue Hennahane Tim O’Kane