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Facility Services

Energy

McMaster University is committed to reducing its energy consumption, implementing conservation programs, and promoting energy efficiency.

The Office of Sustainability provides tools and information regarding best practices to promote energy conservation and can assist in implementing energy conservation programs to engage staff, faculty and students in practicing energy efficiency.

In 2005 McMaster became the first university in Ontario to develop and implement a sustainable building policy. This policy states that every new building on campus will have a minimum of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. The return on the LEED investment includes financial and energy savings and increased efficiency in utilities and other operating costs over the building’s lifespan.

News and Events

LED Lighting Retrofit Project

Building on the success of McMaster’s Facility Services LED lighting retrofit in campus stairwells and corridors, more lighting retrofits were implemented in nine Student Residence Buildings which were completed at the end of 2016.

The estimated annual electricity consumption saving is around 985,000 kWh, and the annual GHG avoidance is estimated to be 123 metric tonnes.

Shut the Sash

This initiative has been essential to helping the campus conserve energy. It allows us to track improvements and target areas that need to achieve more energy savings. The biggest improvement was in NRB (40%) followed by ABB (10%).

Demand Controlled Ventilation

Based on the success achieved in implementing a demand controlled ventilation system in the Undergraduate Wing at Alan B. Bourns, a similar energy conservation initiative was implemented in John Hodgins Engineering (J.H.E.) and Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning (M.D.C.L.) buildings.

The expected results of the project include:

  • Expected annual Greenhouse gas emissions avoided: 760 metric tons of CO2 equivalent
  • Expected annual electricity savings: 866,000 kWh
  • Expected annual gas savings: 259,000 m³

Climate Action Plans

McMaster University has worked with Zero Footprint to complete a campus-wide Greenhouse Gas Inventory for the baseline year of 2007. This inventory provided the foundation for which to build McMaster’s Climate Action Plan.