Back to Sustainability at Trinity

Air and Energy

Trinity College is committed to decreasing energy consumption, improving campus energy efficiency, and engaging in an array of conservation efforts. Below is a list of projects currently in progress, projects that have already been completed, and a snapshot of what is being planned/developed for the future.

Energy Conservation & Renewable Energy:

Current Projects:

  • Underground heating and cooling replacements
    • Replacing aging sections of the central steam heating system to improve system efficiency, reduce underground losses, and improve energy distribution on campus. Phase 1 is currently in progress and is expected to reduce Trinity’s natural gas usage by 20% (144 metric tons of CO2). This is equal to taking 31 gasoline powered cars off the road for a year.
  • Holiday Curtailment Scheduling
    • Trinity College regularly sets back temperature set-points and HVAC equipment when buildings / spaces are not in use including Winter break, Trinity Days, Spring Break, and Summer.
Fuel Cell

Trinity installed a 1.4 MW fuel cell (a low emissions energy technology) to power over 50% of the south campus’s electric power

Completed Projects:

  • 4 MW Fuel Cell
    • Installed 1.4 MW fuel cell (a low emissions energy technology) to power over 50% of the south campus’s electric power
    • Fuel Cells consume natural gas and water to generate electricity
    • Generating power locally reduces utility distribution losses, greenhouse gas emissions, and peak load demands on the local utility infrastructure
    • Waste heat from the fuel cell is recovered as steam and connected to the central heating plant to serve heating and domestic hot water heating loads.
  • White Roofs
    • New energy efficient white roofs were installed on B&G and LSC in 2016
  • Pool Heat Recovery
    • In 2015, a heat recovery unit was installed to serve the pool area.
    • The system uses heat  from the pool exhaust air stream to preheat the outside ventilation air and preheat the pool water.
  • North Campus Boiler Plant
    • In 2015, four condensing boilers were installed to heat and provide domestic hot water for residential buildings on North Campus
  • LED Pole top & Parking Lot Lighting
    • In 2015, all parking lot lighting on Crescent St, Ferris Lane, and Gates quad pole top walkway lighting from LSC to Longwalk was replaced with LED’s using funding from a utility rebate
  • EV Charging Stations
    • In 2015, Trinity installed two Clipper Creak, dual charging stations in the Crescent St. Parking Lot allowing up to 4 vehicles to be charged at once.
      • In 2023, these were replaced with brand new Level two Loop chargers
    • In 2023, two charging ports were added to Facilities for fleet use
    • In 2024, two charging ports were added to the Admissions Parking Lot for public use
    • These stations are in use continuously and additional stations are being considered to meet the demand.
  • Building Automation System (BAS) Upgrades
    • Trinity completed upgrades of over 900 individual HVAC controllers and continues to upgrade other aging controls.
    • The upgrades allow for better monitoring, data trending, control, and optimization of building systems
    • The BAS monitors over 1.5 million GSF of controlled space. The upgrade project was completed in 13 phases over 2 years allowing a more reliable view into how each HVAC system was running, addressed existing issues, and offered opportunities to make the systems more efficient. It included upgrades like:
      • Valve replacements
      • Upgrades to boiler pumps to better modulate speed and temperature
      • Occupancy sensors in dance studios to better correlate energy consumption with room use
      • Heat recovery units to reduce energy needed to heat air and water
    • More upgrades are still needed across campus.
LEED Platinum

The Crescent Street townhouses are certified as LEED Platinum

Future Projects (Planned/in development)

  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory & Campus Energy Audit
  • Install additional EV Charging Stations

 

6 Electric vehicle charging stations

There are 6 public electric vehicle charging stations located in the Crescent Street parking lot and Admissions parking lot