Tom Dunn, associate director of energy at Kent State
 Other Ways Kent State is Staying Green
From cleaning supplies to bio-deisel fuel, see how Kent
State faculty are doing their best to conserve.
"Recycling" Energy Video
In this week’s video, Tom Dunn, associate director of energy for Campus Environment and Operations, discusses the innovative conservation technologies that keep Kent State both environmentally and financially conscious.
Green is Gold
Energy conservation saves $1 million at Kent State
By Anna Riggenbach, Kent State magazine journalism studentGoing green is a phrase heard recently in news reports and marketing materials aimed at environmentally conscious consumers. Concerns about global climate change, for example, are drawing attention from celebrities, auto companies and rock concert promoters, to name a few.
Kent State long ago joined in the effort to conserve energy, notes Tom Dunn, associate director of energy for Campus Environment and Operations, mainly by producing its own electricity, steam and chilled water.
Through the use of newer efficiency programs and technologies, the university’s co-generation plant generates electricity and uses the waste heat for steam. The plant produces steam and electricity during the day and only steam at night.
Additionally, Kent State has a chilled water plant that automatically turns on and off, using the waste steam from its electric generators. Chilled water provides a majority of the air conditioning on campus. Three chillers in the Power Plant and additional chillers around campus reduce the temperature of the water, which is then used to reduce the temperature of the air within the buildings.
“Our generator provides approximately 13 megawatts of power and about 60,000 pounds per hour of steam,” Dunn says. “This covers approximately 80 percent of our electrical needs and almost 55 percent of our steam needs throughout the year.”
Dunn estimates that the university can save almost $1.7 million a year by not buying that energy.
Kent State is one of only two universities in Ohio that utilizes technology to generate both electricity and steam. Power Plant Manager Frank Renovich says it was a combination of feasibility and economics that allows Kent State to utilize this technology.
“The technology is available, and we use that technology appropriately for our university,” he says. “Year-round power needs and steam needs may not be economical or feasible at other campuses, but it is for us.”
The university’s efficiency practices and energy production led to Campus Environment and Operations receiving a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy, which recognizes innovation for environmentally friendly design and cost effectiveness, Dunn says.
Campus Environment and Operations also received the 2007 Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Combined Heat and Power” refers to an efficient, clean and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single fuel source.
“Through the recovery of otherwise wasted heat to produce steam for campus heating, cooling and research needs, Kent State University has demonstrated exceptional leadership in energy use and management,” said the EPA in the university’s letter of recognition.
The Combined Heat and Power System at Kent State has been able to achieve approximately 71 percent efficiency and uses 19 percent less fuel than equivalent separate heat and power, says Dunn.
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