The University of Kentucky recently spent $25 million in energy savings projects, and that work is already showing results.The Herald-Leader reports that costs have been cut by $2.4 million a year. $2.2 million of those savings will go toward the $25 million bond, while the remaining $200,000 will be set aside for future energy projects. And the projects have also reduced UK's carbon dioxide emissions by 23,291 tons a year.According to the Herald-Leader article: The changes have been big: $16.2 million on mechanical systems upgrades, such as better heating and cooling; $6.8 million on lighting; and $1.9 million on water conservation, including low-flush toilets across campus. In addition to reducing UK's carbon footprint, about 13,987,779 kilowatt hours of electricity and 37,673,020 gallons of water have been saved. The final piece of the project is "trying to change human behavior," said Bob Wiseman, vice president of facilities at UK.That's where UK's energy monitoring website comes in. On Empowered, you can see real-time energy usage and historical data for several of the university's buildings. They've only been tracking energy usage since January, but UK Sustainability Coordinator Shane Tedder told the Herald-Leader that once more data is collected, the university might hold competitions to see which building can use the least amount of energy.
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