ASU inks deal with Johnson Controls to support sustainability initiatives
by February 25, 2016 4:15 pm 148 views
A Wisconsin company will work with Arkansas State University on a project to improve lighting, waste and energy management among other things throughout the university’s system, officials with the company and ASU announced Thursday (Feb. 25).
Johnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company, and Arkansas State University signed a $15 million energy performance contract to advance the university’s sustainability initiatives, including improvements to lighting, water conservation, waste management, energy management, HVAC and utility monitoring systems.
The energy performance contract, featuring a 20-year payback and operational savings, is the first of its kind in Arkansas. Recent energy legislation has enhanced the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting program. Energy performance contracting is a financing mechanism used to pay for energy efficiency improvements, which are then paid back through annual energy and operational savings.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Johnson Controls to make significant upgrades to our energy infrastructure,” Dr. Charles Welch, president of the Arkansas State University System, said in a statement. “Those upgrades will benefit everyone in the Arkansas State community – students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff and visitors to our campus.”
The upgrades, scheduled for completion by Nov. 30, 2016, will include:
• Lighting – Johnson Controls will install new LED lights and replace emergency lighting fixtures throughout campus;
• Water conservation – Johnson Controls will either replace or retrofit plumbing fixtures, toilets, urinals, aerators on lavatory faucets and kitchen sinks, and showerheads with water-efficient fixtures and systems;
• Energy management – Johnson Controls will make various software, server, workstation and database improvements at more than a dozen facilities throughout campus; and
• Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) – Johnson Controls will replace an aging chiller with an energy-efficient chiller at the IT Services building, replace three air-handling units with new units at the Education and Communications building, and replace two air-handling units with new units at the Lab Sciences East building.