The installation of new space heaters at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) campus in Orange is the next step in reducing energy usage across the University in a bid to cut electricity consumption by 25% by 2015.

 

CSU’s commitment to environmental sustainability has seen it progress rapidly in the past twelve months and following recommendations from recent energy audits undertaken at CSU’s Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga campuses, the organisation could see drastic reductions in electricity usage in the very near future.

 

“By acting on some of the recommendations made by the audit, the Orange campus alone could reduce its electricity consumption by 20%,” explains CSU energy manager Mr Ed Maher.

 

The first action from the audits has been to initiate a pilot program regarding heating. “New panel radiator heaters will replace reasonably high energy using blow heaters on the Orange campus,” said Mr Maher. “We will evaluate their efficiency and level of comfort after the 2011 winter and, if these new heaters are adequate, a full implementation of the heating systems will be undertaken.” CSU Green assisted in energy monitoring for the audits and contributes resources into promoting and implementing a range of sustainability initiatives.

 

Sustainability has been a strong emphasis at CSU campuses for more than ten years and recently the University committed funds to ensuring a sustainable future through the establishment of CSU Green. As the hub of communication and coordination for the University's sustainability efforts, CSU Green focuses on the energy, water and waste reduction targets established by the University, as well as the move towards carbon neutrality.

 

Earlier this month, the inaugural Australasian ‘Green Gown’ awards, established to assess the efforts of universities towards sustainability, recognised CSU’s energy and water initiatives awarding CSU with one of its three awards given.

 

“Charles Sturt University commits to ensure the responsible stewardship of physical, human and financial resources and to develop plans and procedures to implement sustainability practice,” says Mr Maher. “This audit process is a big step in ensuring our sustainability.”

 

CSU’s Institutional Development Plan (IDP) was developed in 2007 with aims to build institutional strength, reputation and sustainability through implementing strategies around four corporate themes. These corporate themes are organisational culture, sustainability, service alignment and workforce planning. “An essential part to institutional development is the creation of a culture that supports the vision, values and mission of the organisation,” Mr Maher said.

 

The IDP includes commitment to:

The audit was conducted at CSU in Orange under the NSW Sustainability Advantage’s ‘Resource Efficiency’ program run by Hatch Associates. The Hatch audit identified scores for potential energy saving initiatives.  CSU has chosen five of the major initiatives identified by the audit to improve energy efficiencies across the Orange campus. These five projects are:  

Further investigation and detailed review of the five projects has indicated that CSU’s Orange campus should realise significant benefits once all five projects are fully implemented including reduction of annual energy consumption by 417 GJ;reduction in annual GHG production by 350 Tonnes CO2-equivalent and reduction in annual energy costs by $ 76,924.

 

The estimated cost of implementing the five projects comes to just over $300,000.