Energy and Greenhouse Gas

In October 2009, the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Building Services (GBS) team completed an 8 hour Direct Digital Controls (DDC) training delivered by Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO). Digital controls and a Building Automation System (BAS) allow operators to control their buildings in an efficient manner.

The changes may not be immediately evident, but little by little, Harvard College Library has been "going green" for years, even before the University's newest commitment to sustainable practices.

Visitors to the Harvard Faculty Club have high expectations for the amenities they will find there, including lighting. Meals should be accompanied by soft illumination. Function rooms should be amply lit for reading the program or a new acquaintance’s business card. Guest rooms should provide quality lighting for activities from reading to rouging.

Harvard University announced November 2nd that more than 10 percent of the electricity consumed on its Cambridge and Allston campuses soon will be supplied from a wind farm in northern Maine. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this agreement will make Harvard the largest purchaser of wind power by a university or college in New England.

Thanks to an intrepid team of mid-evening adventurers, the enthusiasm of the building manager, and 77 new compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), Harvard’s Expository Writing building on Prescott Street has entered a future of big savings. The light bulb switch took less than an hour to complete and will save the University thousands of dollars in the years to come.

The use of -80F freezers is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions on campus.

Harvard Real Estate Services, in conjunction with Harvard Parking Services, has placed two 10 kW wind turbines atop the Soldiers Field Park Garage. After almost two years in planning stages, the structures were at last erected and set spinning on a bright day in September, 2009.

The Center for Health & the Global Environment (CHGE) at Harvard Medical School has been active in greening its office practices through the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Office Certification Program.

Harvard University has spent a considerable amount of effort developing its Green Building Guidelines, a set of building design standards for projects over 5 million dollars requiring the use of particular materials and power efficiency levels to ensure that all future construction projects meet certain sustainability benchmarks.

The University banded together during the August heat wave to significantly reduce energy consumption.