Washington University in St. Louis: Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Washington University in St. Louis's portfolio consists of more than 160 buildings and 11 million square feet. Washington University in St. Louis has improved energy performance by 11% from a 2016 baseline, making progress towards a goal of 20% by 2027. Energy consumption during 2020 was lower than a typical year since COVID-19 disruptions resulted in temporary building closures and reduced occupancy for much of the year. Energy savings and carbon reduction have been achieved at Washington University’s Danforth and Medical Campuses through an extensive retro commissioning program, LED light retrofits of parking garages and site lighting, night and weekend setbacks for buildings, the adoption of a thermostat setpoint policy, deployment of heat recovery chillers, adding variable speed drives to pumps and fans, adding exhaust air heat recovery systems, upgrading and optimizing chilled water loops, and an institution-wide energy conservation campaign.