More Energy-Efficient Heat for Irwin Library with $100,000 Grant
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Butler University will use a $100,000 federal grant to replace the steam-heating system in Irwin Library with a new, high-efficiency hot water boiler. The new equipment should save Butler close to $30,000 per year in energy costs.
Butler was among 50 Indiana recipients of a total $2.85 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG), announced on July 1 by state Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. The U.S. Department of Energy funds the EECBG program, administered in Indiana by the Indiana Office of Energy Development. Eight Indiana colleges and universities, along with small businesses, health care facilities and non- profit agencies, received grants to upgrade existing facilities.
Director of Maintenance Jerry Carlson said installation of the new library boiler will begin this summer and should be completed in September. The move is part of the University’s overall plan to reduce energy consumption and costs and make campus infrastructure and operations more environmentally sustainable.
Replacing the old boiler will allow Butler to remove the library from the steam-powered, central campus heating system, Carlson said.
The central system’s boilers, located in Jordan Hall, operate at only 55-60 percent efficiency, he said. “The new boiler for Irwin will be 92 percent-plus efficient. In addition, we will no longer have to maintain the piping system to Irwin.The estimated savings in natural gas purchases is about $29,628 per year.”
Butler started to take buildings off of its central system in 2005-2006. Following Irwin’s upgrade, five buildings will remain on the central steam system.
Some 105 organizations applied in the latest EECBG grants round in Indiana. Butler received the program’s maximum $100,000 award and will provide a 50 percent funding match.
Contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
mestephe@butler.edu
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