The University is awaiting approval of a rebate for its energy efficiency program from the Austin City Council.
The rebate, which covers the cost of 736 water-efficient toilets and their installation, would be the first awarded to the program.
The council will decide the fate of more than $120,000 in rebates for the University’s water conservation efforts during its next meeting on Dec. 4. The Austin Water Utility Conservation Division recommended the rebate to the City Council this week.
“The replacement of these toilets is expected to save 25,024 gallons per day,” said Sonja Stefaniw, manager of the city’s water conservation division. “This reduces demand on the utility’s treatment capacity and decreases greenhouse gas emissions.”
Student and faculty may already be familiar with the low-flow toilets.
Al Lewandowski, the energy manager for UT’s energy efficiency program, said the University had to install them first before receiving the rebate.
“It’s like you buying a refrigerator and getting a rebate,” he said. “They’re not going to give you a rebate ’til you buy the refrigerator.”
Lewandowski said some of the toilets replaced in the Main Building were 80 years old.
“Let’s say that there were some oldies but goodies in there,” Lewandowski said. “I don’t know if they were a hundred years old, but they were definitely around since the ’20s.”
The estimated cost of the campus-wide energy efficiency program, including all expected rebates, is $16 million. Ten million dollars will go toward lighting upgrades and $2.5 million for water upgrades. The rest will cover a steam-trapping program and labor and consulting costs.
The conservation program will save UT about $3 million per year in utility costs.
The University is expecting more rebates for its water program and is currently working
to file the paperwork for the lighting rebates.
The city is also providing UT with free shower heads and faucet aerators, which are the screens that fit over the spouts to control the spray and water flow of the faucets.
Lewandowski said the aerators will reduce the water flow rate by seven times. He expects the 6,000 water-saving devices installed to save 60 million gallons of water per year.
The project started in January 2007, and Lewandowski expects the program to be done in January 2009.
Lewandowski also said the University plans to upgrade its 50-year-old irrigation system, which will save 33 million gallons of water.
The University also plans to install software to put campus computers in sleep mode during the night. Lewandowski said this move will cut the energy consumption of the computers in half.
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