The George Mason University Energy Department plan is to aggressively pursue energy-saving activities
and to provide adequate support of these activities to consume energy in the most efficient manner possible.
A building should function productively; it should use energy economically, make the work place more
comfortable, and react automatically to weather conditions. It is a fact:
- 40% of the world’s energy is consumed by buildings
- 21% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide comes from building’s energy usage
- Building owners are under pressure to reduce energy consumption.
Since FY2005, Mason has initiated two Energy Performance Savings Contracts with Siemens Industry, Inc.
totaling 16.7 million dollars. The 40 energy improvement measures yield 2.5 million dollars in savings annually.
The Energy Management Department also used funds returned from the curtailment program to complete a
thermal blanket insulation project that will yield savings of 2.5 million dollars over a 15 year period and a
payback of 13 months. The reduction of GHG emissions for all three projects is 20,505 metric tons of CO2 annually.
Equivalency Results 20,505 metric tons CO2
| Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 5,379 passenger vehicles |
| CO2 emissions from 3,075,077 gallons of gasoline consumed |
| CO2 emissions from 63,790 barrels of oil consumed |
| CO2 emissions from 362 tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline |
| CO2 emissions from the electricity use of 3,420 homes for one year |
| CO2 emissions from the energy use of 2,380 homes for one year |
| Carbon sequestered by 703,325 tree seedlings grown for 10 years |
| Carbon sequestered annually by 5,848 acres of pine or fir forests |
| Carbon sequestered annually by 273 acres of forest preserved from deforestation |
| CO2 emissions from 1,142,904 propane cylinders used for home barbeques |
| CO2 emissions from 150 burning railcars’ worth of coal |
| Greenhouse gas emissions avoided by 9,557 recycling tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill |
| Annual CO2 emissions of 0.0069 coal fired power plants |
George Mason University has made a commitment to do our part to save energy and help protect our environment.
With your help, we can do even more.
If you have concerns or ideas that would help Mason save energy, please send them to pbuchan2@gmu.edu