The CU System Office and Cu Boulder won a price of 220,000 US dollars, an initiative of the Incubator Incubator from Wells Fargo in cooperation with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) of the US Department of Energy (NREL) after participating in the opening scaling.
CU Boulder will use the award to retrofit the windows of the Environmental Design building (ENVD) using the innovative energy-saving window technology of Inovues. The upgrade is intended to reduce the energy consumption of ENVD by at least 15%and generate cost savings of $ 46,900 per year.
In the course of the five-month program, CU system assistant for budget, planning, planning and capital Kori Donaldson and Cu Boulder Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and resistance Chris Ewing worked closely with experts at NREL to examine the challenges and solutions for the implementation of clear technologies. They started a listening trip with a dozen people from the CU to collect data and inputs before they provided a final presentation. Seven judges from various industries made the final decisions about which projects would progress.
CU Boulder will integrate the advanced retrofitting solution from Inovues into the ENVD building-a movement that reduces energy consumption and contributes to the goal of university neutrality by 2050. The inovues product, a dynamic, inexpensive window retrofit system, increases the energy efficiency of the building by reducing the heat loss in winter and when the heating gain in summer.
“We are proud to achieve the implementation of real solutions that affect our campus and the wider community,” said President Todd Saliman. “This project shows the persistent commitment of the CU for sustainability and we look forward to the potential for use in other CU buildings and a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
With the patented retrofit technology from Inovues, Cu Boulder can upgrade its existing windows without it being fully replaced in 1947. The result will be a more comfortable and efficient learning environment for students and faculties.
“Our goal is to go ahead with a good example and ensure that the Cu Boulder remains at the top of sustainability and energy efficiency,” said Cu Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz. “This is the type of innovative, scalable solution, which can help us accelerate our transition with clean energy and to have a real influence on the decarbonization of the campus by reducing how much energy we first use. It is also a great example of how we can work with NREL and other partners to make great progress for the sustainable goals that we share. “
Cu Boulder was the only university that was represented in the cohort. Four other award winners will carry out projects such as retrofitting HLK systems, improving air quality and optimizing data center cooling.
“In addition to the new relationships with NREL, the program itself is an award,” said Sarah Derdowski, Innovation Incubator program manager at NREL. “We already see new efforts to change the culture in all of these organizations.”
After installing the retrofitting windows, CUS Facility teams monitor the energy efficiency of the building through thermal imaging and energy consumption data to determine whether this could be a practical long-term solution for other buildings on the campus.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Cu Boulder to promote his commitment to sustainability, and we are happy to have been part of this cohort,” said Ewing. “By using the Inovues retrofit windows, we can take an immediate little step towards our carbon neutrality goals and at the same time demonstrate the viability of scalable technologies for clean energies that can be adopted at other institutions and buildings. As a proud ENVD alumnus, which has spent so many hours in this building, it is exciting to work on a project that not only reduces our energy consumption, but also increases user comfort for our students, faculties, employees and visitors. “
The retrofitting of the ENVD window is expected to begin in summer and will be completed before autumn 2025.
“This partnership is only the beginning of many other sustainable projects at the University of Colorado, of which we hope that they can benefit all four locations,” said Donaldson. “Through cooperation and innovation, we are working on achieving our long -term goals for carbon neutrality and at the same time causing a concrete difference in the fight against climate change.”