Energy Conservation at Notre Dame

Notre Dame is actively addressing the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions stemming from power generation, with the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral campus by 2050.  These initiatives fall into three categories: 

• Energy conservation via investing in more efficient technologies
• Decarbonization through renewable energy investments
• Behavior change programs to educate and incentivize the campus community to save energy

Building Upgrades

The multi-year Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) program continues to implement energy-efficient technology in existing campus buildings, with expected efficiencies ranging from 10-20% at each building. 

The strategies employed in the ECM program include: 

• Efficient lighting
• Occupancy sensors
• Variable speed air handling units and pumps
• Direct digital controls
• Building scheduling and ventilation optimization
• Improvement of the HVAC systems on campus 

ECM I, the first phase of the program retrofitted 25 buildings from 2008-2010 at a cost of $4 million, reducing electricity use by over 5.2 million kWh, and steam and chilled water by over 30,000 MMBTU, equating to a 4,000 MTCO2e reduction. 

ECM II was implemented in 2011-2013 in 55 buildings. During this phase, ECM I strategies continued and expanded into new areas. Improvements included installing LED lighting in exit signs, reducing the flow rates of fume hoods, and replacing motors and pumps with high-efficiency models. ECM II yielded an annual savings of over $1 million and reduced campus carbon dioxide emissions by 14,900 tons each year.  

ECM III commenced in 2014 and concluded in early 2016.  Once again, the basic strategies of ECM I and II were utilized, with additional efforts in new areas such as variable speed air compressors, high-bay LED lighting, energy metering, laboratory ventilation reductions, and computerized building performance analysis.  ECM III resulted in an estimated reduction in Notre Dame's carbon dioxide emissions of 12,000 tons per year. Investment in the first three ECM phases totaled nearly $13 million, roughly equal to the amount of savings generated through FY15, providing an overall return on investment of 15% annually.  

ECM IV, launched in 2016, is currently in the final stages. Current efforts include building retro-commissioning, an off-campus solar photovoltaic array, LED lighting, and geothermal heating/cooling projects.

ECM V is currently being scoped and is expected to focus on converting many of the original lighting retrofits accomplished in prior phases from high-efficiency T8 and T5 fluorescents to LED as well as a focus on building retro-commissioning.

LED Light Standards

Since September 2009, the University has retrofitted over 1,5200 outdoor light standards with LED lamps, resulting in reduced carbon dioxide emissions of about 5450 tons per year. As part of ECM IV, the University retrofitted another 300 outdoor light standards, completing the conversion of all existing campus exterior lighting to LED. LEDs are now the campus standard for new lamp posts going forward. Notre Dame joined the LED University program in 2008; an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting.

The Golden Dome Hesburgh Library’s Word of Life mural are is illuminated by state-of-the-art LED lights. These LED lights reduce energy consumption by over 35,000 kilowatt hours per year and reduce the campus's carbon emissions by approximately 12.2 tons per year. Nearly all campus sports lighting including the Notre Dame Stadium and Purcell Pavilion are lit with LED light sources. In both cases, these two facilities were one of the first of their kind to be lit with LEDs.

Thermostat Set-Point Program

For buildings that have digitally controlled heating and cooling, sensors maintain each room's temperature between 70° and 75° during the time of occupancy but allow it to fluctuate within that range.  Allowing the temperature to fluctuate rather than trying to maintain an exact temperature reduces energy use by minimizing the use of mechanical systems.  When such spaces are not occupied the temperatures are allowed to drift further for additional energy savings with the range expanding to 67° to 78°.

Those faculty, staff, and students who are not in digitally controlled buildings are asked to keep residential, office, and classroom temperatures below 75° during the heating season and within the 70° to 75° range during the cooling season.

If your thermostat does not respond or cannot maintain the desired temperature, please call the Work Control Center at 631-8888 and request a visit from campus maintenance. 

Additional Carbon Reduction Efforts

The primary fuel combusted at the Notre Dame Power Plant is natural gas. In the fall of 2015, President Jenkins announced that the university would cease burning coal entirely within five years and invest $113 million in renewable energy sources and projects. In October 2019, the University officially ceased burning coal one year ahead of the scheduled 2020 goal.

Several renewable energy projects have been developed, including a hydroelectric facility located in downtown South Bend using an existing dam on the St. Joseph River. Power from this project is transmitted back to campus. Partnering with Indiana Michigan Power, the University is a 40% participant in a 20MW solar array called the St. Joseph Solar Farm. The project is located along Interstate 80/90, just a short distance from campus. The University has and continues to build out geothermal resources that provide both heating hot water and chilled water for buildings. More details on these projects can be seen on our carbon neutrality timeline. 

Additional renewable and carbon reduction initiatives include:

• Gas turbine technology — The University has installed two combined cycle combustion gas turbines to produce both electricity and steam. This energy production is twice as efficient as a traditional electrical plant. The steam produced through the heat-recovery steam generators, powered in part by the gas turbine exhaust, is further used to produce additional electricity with the waste heat from this process used to heat campus, produce hot water, and drive equipment to provide air conditioning for campus.
• Thermal Storage — In 2019, the University constructed what is known as the East Plant, located east of Wilson Drive, which amongst other equipment houses a thermal energy storage tank with the capacity to store two million gallons of chilled water.  This allows the creation of additional cooling capacity at night when electric rates are less expensive.  The energy stored in the tank is used to meet peak cooling loads during the heat of the day.
• Heat recovery — Numerous projects are both underway and in the planning phases to recover and regenerate energy from existing energy sources, such as the power plant’s condenser water.