Dean Pines agreed for Martin Hall to participate in this semester’s EnergyWi$e UM pilot. Energywi$e UM, an effort led by the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Management, aims to reduce campus energy use by including building occupants in energy conservation efforts. Throughout the semester, the program will provide Engineering Information Technology with periodic data about Martin Hall’s energy use as well as targeted conservation challenges that we can easily work into our daily routines.

Glenn L. Martin Hall houses the Departments of Aerospace Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, and Distance Education Technology and Services (DETS) within the A. James Clark School of Engineering. The building includes classrooms, labs, and faculty and administrative offices. It also houses student club offices and the E+M Deli, Coffee Shop, and Taco Bell® Express.

Van Munching Hall (Business and Public Policy) and the Chesapeake building (Administrative Affairs) are also participating. The pilot will last till December 13, 2009.

The Martin Hall department liaison’s for this effort are: Otto Fandino, AERO; Debbie Densmore, Co-op; Jim Zahniser, EIT/DETS; Al Santos, CIVIL, Peggy Brumfield, ENME. Golnaz Khorsha, a Master’s Candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is the Martin Hall contact for Energywi$e UM, and Heather Lair is the project manager. Both are from the Office of Sustainability.

Here’s How it Works:

Each week, building occupants received a building energy "report" which summarized:

• Energy used previous week – in kWh, $, and pounds CO2
• Whether the building’s energy usage increased or decreased over the prior week
• Progress over the course of the pilot – is the building decreasing energy usage week by week (and saving $ and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions)?
• A new "assignment" – weekly tips for occupant energy conservation (simple things like turning off lights, enabling power management settings on computers, working with the building’s heating/cooling system to conserve energy).

Did you know that the average monthly electricity usage of Martin Hall is 244,000 kWh, with a cost of approximately $29,000? While operating a large academic building is obviously energy intensive, we all know that there are things we can do to reduce our energy consumption in Martin Hall.

So, How Are We Doing So Far?

Make A Suggestion!

The Office of Sustainability would like to hear your suggestions of how Facilities Management can help reduce energy usage in Martin Hall. For more information, or to send your suggestions, contact Golnaz Khorsha, at gkhorsha@umd.edu, or visit the Campus Sustainability website.