Steve Robichaud

Credit: Deb Albenberg & Gosia Sklodowska

Steve Robichaud, Manager of Building Systems, has felt a strong connection to the outdoors since he was a young boy helping his mom in the family garden. He grew up in a farming community and has always maintained an appreciation for what nature provides. Steve composts at home and is careful to conserve energy and natural resources. He is an avid woodworker, and it has been years since he has purchased materials for his projects, preferring instead to utilize salvaged wood or surplus lumber passed on to him by carpenter friends.

He has been involved with a number of sustainability projects related to improving the efficiency of the heating and cooling systems for FAS buildings. Outdated and less efficient controls are replaced with modern digital control systems whenever possible. These upgrades result in a significant energy savings and allow for the maintenance of comfortable living and working spaces on campus. Stephen acknowledges that retrofitting older buildings can be a complicated, expensive, and time-consuming process.

Although modern digital systems allow for better control it can sometimes be difficult for administrators to get accurate feedback about system performance. Through a partnership with the REP program, Stephen was able to get temperature measurements from dorm rooms and use that data to maximize system performance. Stephen is motivated by a personal commitment to sustainability and the ongoing effort to “make a control better.”