Energy Management

Marshall University endeavors to reduce campus energy consumption through a number of projects and features.

• LED Lighting Conversion –
  • All across campus, florescent fixtures are being converted to house LED’s.  The upgrade is expected to yield an average energy savings in lighting costs of 20-50%. Since October 2016, we have seen a reduction in usage of approximately 4,000,000 kWh’s. This has led to an estimated savings of $321,000. This is enough energy to power 366 homes for a full year!
  • Prior to 2016, a number of LED installations and upgrades were made:
    • Emergency Lighting upgrades included replacing existing incandescent Exit Lights to energy saving LED’s which use less energy and generate less heat.
    • Replaced 150 watt high pressure sodium fixtures with 40 watt LED post outdoor lighting fixtures.
    • Replaced 300 watt flood lights in Smith Hall Auditorium with 28 watt LED’s.
    • Replaced 75 watt fixture with 8 watt LED spotlights  at the walkway and throughout Drinko Library.
• Motion Occupancy Sensors – this form of lighting ensures that rooms are only lit when someone is present. Installation of motion occupancy sensors has taken place in over seventy classrooms in Smith and Harris Halls. The installation of the motion occupancy sensors enables the building to reduce lighting costs by up to 20%.
• Utilizing Energy Star Portfolio Manager for campus buildings, which is an energy management tool to track and assess energy and water consumption.
• Energy Efficient Roofing
  • Installation of Reflective Roofing on Smith Hall, Smith Music Hall, Communications Building, and Morrow Library.
    • Use of Reflective Roofing in this region can result in an energy savings of between 20-30% per building.
    • The reflective roofing material also lowers a roof’s surface temperature, decreasing the amount of heat transferred into a building.
  • Installation of Green Roofs on the Science Building and the Applied Engineering Complex
    • These Green Roofs serve to conserve heating & cooling costs. Plants absorb a portion of the sunlight that falls on the roof and transform that potential heat energy into the chemical energy needed to run the plants’ photosynthesis engine. In addition, the added layers of plants, roots, and soil provide a thicker layer of insulation. In addition, green roofs reduce our impact on the local storm water system by absorbing a portion of rainfall for plant use.
      Green Roof – Science Building  |  Green Roof – Applied Engineering Complex