University Operations Services

Last November, Harvard University’s Building Energy Auditing Service completed a comprehensive energy assessment of the Harvard Divinity School (HDS) campus. After completing an assessment at HDS’ Andover Library over the summer of 2009, the audit team won a competitive bid to perform an energy audit of the school's remaining six buildings.

Refined Vegetable Oil (RVO) was recently mixed with standard No. 6 fuel oil to fire the Blackstone Steam Plant’s boilers that deliver heat to more than 160 campus buildings. The purpose of the test was to compare the air emissions from the RVO mix with the emissions created by burning straight No. 6 fuel oil. The initial results are promising.

It’s a little bottle that packs a big cleaning punch. FMO Custodial Services is piloting a new product within Blackstone that uses only water, but reportedly cleans even better than bleach.

In October 2009, the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Building Services (GBS) team completed an 8 hour Direct Digital Controls (DDC) training delivered by Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO). Digital controls and a Building Automation System (BAS) allow operators to control their buildings in an efficient manner.

Engineering and Utilities (E&U) has signed a long-term agreement with First Wind, a Massachusetts based renewable energy company, to buy 10% of the power consumed on the Cambridge and Allston campuses from a wind farm in northern Maine. According to the EPA, this agreement will make Harvard the largest purchaser of wind energy by a college or university in New England!

Harvard Real Estate Services, in conjunction with Harvard Parking Services, has placed two 10 kW wind turbines atop the Soldiers Field Park Garage. After almost two years in planning stages, the structures were at last erected and set spinning on a bright day in September, 2009.

The University banded together during the August heat wave to significantly reduce energy consumption.

During the summer of 2009, Transportation Services installed efficient lighting fixtures and sensors within 10 University parking garages and at the Fleet Management facility at 155 North Harvard Street. The project is expected to conserve significant amounts of electricity and save approximately $400K a year.

Harvard Yard, the organically managed centerpiece of the University, got a little greener with the installation of new recycling containers in the Yard. The receptacles were installed next to five new Big Belly solar-powered trash compactors.

Engineering and Utilities (E&U) is providing the University with a powerful new tool to better manage energy consumption. New hardware, software, and metering are being installed to offer real-time energy usage information which will ultimately enable building operators to improve the efficiency of their buildings.