Weston & Sampson was contracted by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) initially to perform an American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Level II energy and water audit for Roxbury Community College in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts.
Built between 1825 and 1995, the campus consists of six buildings totaling over 350,000 square feet of educational space, including the Reggie Lewis Sports and Athletic Complex.
The audited energy use at the facility was on the order of 6.7 million kWh of electricity; 47,000 Therms of natural gas, and 3.4 million gallons of water at annual (2013) cost of approximately $908,000. We conducted an evaluation of existing equipment conditions and a broad range of water and energy conservation measures (ECMs) that included the use of renewable resources. The recommended ECMs included lighting and lighting controls, energy management system retro-commissioning with added controls, domestic water fixture replacement, variable frequency drive installation, vending machine economization, and improvements to electric metering/monitoring systems. We also recommended the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal, and integration of a geothermal heat pump system.
The ECMs recommended considered the interactive effects certain measures are likely to have on one another. The estimated cost of the proposed ECMs before grants, rebates, and incentives is on the order of $6.54 million. An estimated $2.85 million in grants, rebates, and incentives are available for the ECMs, which we believe would yield an estimated $944,036 in annual cost savings, including revenue from the sale of SRECs and net metering credits, with an aggregate simple payback of 3.9 years.
Phase II – Solar PV Design Plans & Performance Specifications
For Phase II of the project, we are responsible for providing 30% design plans and 100% performance specifications for the solar PV project, which includes solar PV parking canopies and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. This phase of the project includes:
- 937 kW (DC) in Parking Lot 1
- Dual cantilever parking canopy
- Six EV charging stations
As part of the renewable energy benefits, we expect the project will receive Leading by Example Program (LBE) grant funding from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) for the solar canopies ($0.75/watt up to $600,000) and EV charging stations.