Through a comprehensive plan to overhaul the campus energy infrastructure, technology resources and behavioral patterns, The University of Tulsa cut campuswide electricity use by over 2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2019.
“What’s been so impressive is how quickly we’ve made this transition,” said Kevan Buck, TU’s executive vice president and treasurer. “Jason Grunin, the assistant vice president of business and energy, has had an ambitious vision from the start, and our partners at Cenergistic have handled much of the day-to-day energy savings. Our infrastructure upgrades and new tech have played a large part in our energy transformation, but it’s the human touch that has driven savings.”
In recent years, the university has introduced many initiatives aimed at creating a more sustainable university. Targeted upgrades to lighting, sprinklers, transportation and utility meters have reduced energy consumption across campus, and the installation of solar panels introduced clean energy to facilities.
The most notable conservation effort, however, comes via a partnership with Cenergistic, a national sustainability company. TU personnel work closely with Cenergistic engineers, experts and an energy specialist to audit and optimize energy-using systems across the organization to achieve peak efficiency. The energy specialist tracks energy consumption at all campuses with leading state-of-the-art technology to identify waste and drive conservation.
“Savings of this magnitude in the span of only a year speak volumes about the university’s commitment to sustainability,” said Rob Sullivent, Cenergistic’s regional vice president of client operations. “As an alumnus, I am proud of the commitment TU is making to the future of our planet.”
“Our goal from the beginning has been to make TU one of the leaders in sustainability across the state, and we’re well on our way. As an added benefit, we’ve saved a lot of money in the process,” Buck said. “We look forward to what future savings these initiatives will bring.”
About Cenergistic
Since 1986 Cenergistic has partnered with 1450+ educational, municipal government and healthcare organizations to achieve $5.6 billion in utility savings and cost avoidance. These strong results come from the application of Cenergistic’s organizational behavior-based strategies and are enhanced by our proprietary software platform to drive building and equipment optimization. Our energy conservation program reduces utility consumption by an average of 25% with no capital investment while maintaining or improving the comfort and quality of building environments. For more than a decade, Cenergistic has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year or Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence. To learn more, visit www.cenergistic.com.
Two energy specialists will be deployed to TU, equipped with Cenergistic’s Ceres cloud-based, machine learning software, which includes real-time alerts, to augment optimization of TU’s equipment and energy usage across all university buildings and facilities. Cenergistic also provides remote and onsite engineering and measurement and verification experts.