2010 Best Practice Awards

The ninth annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference was held in June 2010, at the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. The 2010 Best Practice Award recipients represent outstanding energy-efficiency and sustainability achievements of the UC, CSU, and CCC systems.

The case studies below have been documented in a summary format to highlight and share examples of innovative and cost-effective building technologies, design strategies, and building operations.

Best Overall Sustainable Design

Night view of CSU American River project

CSU Sacramento American River Courtyard
Through the use of highly efficient systems and technologies, the American River Courtyard residence hall has achieved exemplary energy savings. In addition, residents enjoy healthy and comfortable living spaces, in part a result of the project’s inclusive and responsive design process.


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Central Plant

DeAnza College Mediated Learning Center
With forward-looking learning environments and highly sustainable features, this project will house digital media tools that will modernize the academic experience. The project aims to transform a little-used area of campus into a major learning center, and create one of the college's touchstone buildings.


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Central Plant

UC Irvine Medical Education Building
The Medical Education Building is an excellent example of mixed-mode design, with a two-zone design which allows for maximizing the use of natural ventilation for passive cooling, while providing mechanical cooling when necessitated by seasonal or program requirements.


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Best HVAC Design/Retrofit

Exhaust stack retrofit at UC Irvine

UC Irvine Exhaust Stack Discharge Velocity Reduction
Careful analysis and wind tunnel testing identified opportunities for energy reduction by reducing exhaust air velocities at four campus labs. Retrofits incorporating variable frequency drives, exhaust stack extensions, and tuned control strategies resulted in significant cost and energy savings.


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Central Plant

Los Angeles Pierce College, Near Net-Zero Maintenance and Operations Complex
A new central plant will employ numerous innovative renewable and energy efficient technologies in order to supply electricity, heating and cooling to two new facilities, bringing the project’s net energy use close to zero.


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Central Plant

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Student Recreation Expansion and Remodel
The center’s indirect/direct evaporative cooling system will take advantage of the local dry climate to create a comfortable indoor environment while reducing utility and maintenance costs. The variable air volume design will supply 100 percent outside air while outperforming Title 24 by 24 percent.


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Best Lighting Design/Retrofit

UCSD Lighting at the SRC

UC San Diego Sustainability Resource Center DC-DC Lighting Project
This project is the first installation of a DC lighting system to use photovoltaic cells as the primary power source. With advanced controls, LED lighting, an energy dashboard, and a plug-and-play platform, the project is a living lab for renewable and low-energy technologies.


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Central Plant

San Jose State University King Library Lighting Retrofit
Through creative fixture prototyping, an extensive lighting retrofit reduced building energy use by 25 percent, bringing the total well below the initial design goal. New lamp and ballast combinations extend lamp life and reduce maintenance costs.


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Central Plant

Copper Mountain College Comprehensive Lighting Retrofit
Bond funding enabled a wide range of energy improvements, including the retrofitting of all interior and exterior fixtures, installation of new ballasts and occupancy sensors, and integration with a campus-wide energy management system.


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Monitoring-Based Commissioning (MBCx)

View of Yolo Hall

CSU Chico Yolo Hall
Retro-commissioning measures improved building energy performance at Yolo Hall by focusing primarily on HVAC control strategies, resulting in an annual reduction of 23 percent in natural gas consumption, and a 13 percent reduction in total building electricity use.


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Central Plant

UC Berkeley Le Conte Hall
An MBCx effort reduced energy consumption at LeConte Hall by 25 percent. Improvements to control schedules and economizer operation allowed for 24-hour chilled water for research needs, yet still exceeded the project’s electrical energy savings goals by a factor of four.


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Credits: The 2010 Best Practice case studies were edited by David Lehrer of the Green Building Research Center. Contributing authors include Chris Hammer, Miriam Landman, Trista Little, and Ben Rosenblum.

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