Identifying the determinants of energy use in Texas A&M University campus at Kingsville

The non residential stock is highly variable in building size, construction and activities. Conversely to residential buildings, institutional buildings have a huge diversity of energy end uses and installed capacities. University campuses belong to the latter group and are among the major education facilities. Their energy use is comparable to that of a medium sized town. This paper presents an overview of the assessment of the characteristics, current energy consumption and the potential for energy conservation in Texas A&M University campus at Kingsville (TAMUK). Though some of the general energy conservation measures outlined in this paper are quite technical in nature a large number can be classified as socio-technical and envisage educating and engaging students (the largest population group on campus) in energy and environmental issues. This being a program expected to span for several years the cumulative impact of implementing these energy conservation measures will only be felt close to the end of the project. The major goal is thus using the information collected along the life span of this project to identify the determinants of energy use in a small university campus and gain an improved scientific understanding of the broad patterns of energy flows. The information gathered is of the foremost value to other institutions of higher education sharing similar characteristics and environmental concerns.