Univ of Central Florida, Parking Garage Wins EPA EnergyStar

EPA Announces Winner of the 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the University of Central Florida (UCF) is the winner of EPA’s 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. In its second year, the competition featured teams from 245 buildings across the country in a head-to-head battle to save energy, reduce costs, and protect people's health and the environment. UCF’s winning building was a parking garage on the university’s main campus where energy use was decreased by 63.2 percent. Together, competitors cut their energy costs by $5.2 million.

From improvements in operations and maintenance to upgrades in equipment and technology, the competitors saved a combined total of more than 240 million kBtus of energy and $5.2 million on utility bills annually. Competitors reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by more than 3,600 homes. The top overall finishers and their percent-based reductions in energy use include:

University of Central Florida, Parking Garage C, Orlando, Fla. 63.2%

Twinsburg High School and Sports Complex, Twinsburg, Ohio 46.3%
Polaris Career Center, Middleburg Heights, Ohio 43.4%
Hartman Elementary School, Wylie, Texas 43.2%
Scientific Instruments, West Palm Beach, Fla. 42.2%
Fannie Mae Office Building, 3939 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, District of Columbia 34.6%
Office Depot, Plano, Texas 34.1%
North Suburban Medical Office Building, Thornton, Colo. 33.7%
Office Depot, Raleigh, N.C. 33.1%
Kokomo High School, Kokomo, Ind. 32.3%

The 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition measured energy performance from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011. Competitors tracked their building's monthly energy consumption using EPA's Energy Star online energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. UCF won the competition by demonstrating the largest percent-reduction in energy use, adjusted for weather and the size of the building. The energy use intensity and square footage for each top overall finisher was verified by an independently licensed professional engineer or registered architect at the conclusion of the competition. This marks the second year a university has won the competition. In 2010, Morrison Residence Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won the competition, reducing energy use by more than 35 percent.

Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s Energy Star program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year. (EPA)

More information on the 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition.