Energy Services team 2025, (Left) Henock Kidanu, Brian Bozell, and Kevin Keating. Photo by Roxsand King
By Henock Kidanu
Energy consumption in campus buildings has the largest impact on University greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to more than 70% of the University’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Increasing building efficiency is a critical component of achieving the more ambitious goal the University set in 2020 to reduce its absolute greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2030.
A team of three energy engineers within the University of Chicago Facilities Services, known as the Energy Services team, works with ingenuity and persistence to find solutions to reduce this footprint.
Senior Director of Energy Programs Brian Bozell, Campus Energy Manager Henock Kidanu, and Energy and Utilities Manager Kevin Keating are tasked with developing energy management strategies and implementing energy efficiency projects across campus to improve building operations and reduce risk for facilities.
Since 2018, the Energy Services team has helped the University reduce energy through Preventative Maintenance + Commissioning (PMCx) studies for “the Top 38” energy intensive buildings on campus, reducing over 145,000 MMBtu of combined electric, steam, natural gas, and chilled water usage, which is equivalent to CO2 emissions from nearly 4,000 average homes for a year.
Below is a summary of energy project activities over the past few years:
Retro-commissioning (PMCx)
From 2022–2023, Regenstein Library, The Laboratory Schools, and 1155 East 60th Street collectively reduced over 20,500 MMBtu/yr. in combined energy usage. These projects reduced energy through retro-commissioning measures involving optimized heating and cooling setpoints, air handling unit scheduling adjustments, and preventative maintenance repairs.
PMCx Lite + Internal Studies
In 2024, Facilities Services launched the PMCx Lite program, which focuses on low to mid-level energy intensive buildings with a large potential for energy reduction. Phase I of this initiative included Bartlett Commons, Erman Biology Center, Quadrangle Club, Alumni House, and Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. Phase II includes the Facilities Services Building, Eckhart Hall, Earl Shapiro Hall, McGiffert House, Harper Memorial Library, and the Stevanovich Center for Financial Mathematics. Through these studies the University aims to identify additional ways to further improve buildings throughout campus.
The Energy Services team has also performed internal energy assessments to identify reduction opportunities for buildings located on the Main Quadrangle. The Main Quad is the oldest segment of UChicago’s campus with Gothic Revival style buildings constructed in 1890. With aging systems and controls, these historic buildings will benefit from equipment upgrades and improved management.
Laboratory Optimization
Laboratory buildings are the highest energy intensive buildings on campus. They account for nearly 40% of campus energy use, while only occupying about 10% of the total campus square footage. Since 2018, UChicago has reduced over 3,000 MTeCo2 in lab spaces through energy studies and implemented measures. This year, the University established a SMARTLabs program which systematically assess behavioral, operational, and capital upgrade opportunities to optimize laboratory spaces with a collaborative team of university staff, faculty, and students.
Steam Traps
Steam traps are useful automatic valves that remove condensate while keeping steam circulating throughout the distribution piping. Inoperable traps can lead to significant energy loss and system damage. Last year, UChicago collaborated with Peoples Gas to perform steam trap surveys around campus. After surveying over 1,500 steam traps for 60+ campus buildings, the University repaired all identified failed traps which reduced 19,770 MMBtu/yr. in steam loss. The University will perform ongoing steam trap surveys and repairs annually.
South Steam Plant Boiler Blowdown Heat Recovery
The South Steam Plant provides steam utility service for campus processes and comfort heating needs. This includes the mission-critical UChicago Medical Center. In 2024, UChicago completed the installation of a new blowdown heat recovery system that is designed to recover up to 90% of the heat from boiler blowdown that would otherwise be lost down the drain. The recovered heat is then used to preheat condensate and makeup water, improving overall system efficiency. The new system recovered 802,420 Btu/yr. of waste heat after its first year of installation, equivalent to 31,400 gallons of gasoline consumed per year.
Energy initiatives
The University has developed several capital initiatives as part of its Energy Management Plan. These long-term investments contribute to a substantial amount of targeted energy reduction.
MBCx Pilot Program
Monitoring Based Commissioning (MBCx) is a building control monitoring system that identifies energy reduction opportunities and improves operational efficiencies through fault detection and data analytics. This year UChicago has invited several industry professionals to participate in a MBCx Pilot Program, which allows the University to review and evaluate the digital monitoring capabilities of each system with plans for future campus expansion.
Compressed Air Program
In 2024, the University performed a condition assessment of the compressed air systems at the South Steam Plant (SSP) and West Campus Combined Utility Plant (WCCUP) to assess compressed air users, identify failure within the system, and evaluate potential improvements. The development of a Compressed Air Leak Program has been established to identify and repair compressed air leaks on a periodic basis. These efforts are geared to reduce energy waste and improve system reliability.
Chilled Water Optimization
Opportunities to improve the performance of UChicago’s chilled water distribution system and building interface were identified through a 2020 study. In 2023, UChicago designed a Chilled Water Optimization Plan to include central utility system upgrades, machine learning algorithms, and central chiller plant management. During 2024, an external partner developed a model to simulate the impact of an optimization software on UChicago’s Central Utility Plants. The simulation reported up to 1,699,569 kWh/yr. of electricity savings or 1,187 MTeCo2 of GHG emissions avoided compared to baseline.
Progress on our goal
Thus far, the operational improvements from these energy efficiency projects contribute about 5% towards the University of Chicago Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan (FY2022–FY2030) target goal. Proper planning, implementation, and adoption of new and better technologies will continue to improve our overall greenhouse gas emissions performance over time.
To read more about this work, please visit Reporting.