Founded in 1896, SC State is the only public HBCU in South Carolina. The University offers its 3,000 students leading programs in Engineering, Biology/Chemistry, Speech Pathology/Audiology, Education, Communications Business, and Family & Consumer Sciences.
CHALLENGE
The campus originally had a central steam plant which, over the years, became costly to maintain. In 2012 SCSU and C&W Services started to work on transitioning the campus over to a decentralized steam system.
SOLUTION
We took a phased approach to transitioning the priority buildings on campus, working to get the gas lines installed in an efficient and cost-effective manner, before expanding out to the rest of campus.
We worked closely with SCSU throughout the process, taking the lead on coordination with the gas company and the state engineer’s office.
RESULT
- The transition to the new steam system was completed in the fall of 2017. In the first academic year with the new decentralized steam system, SCSU saved an estimated $530,000 in energy costs.
- Increased boiler efficiency from 70% to 90%.
- Enabled energy-saving IoT features such as ability to manage boilers remotely.
- Installed sensors that are able to read the weather and adjust the temperature of the water accordingly.
- SCSU has also embraced many other energy-saving measures, like retrofitting buildings with LED lighting.