Energy and Water Conservation Projects

  • Award Winning Central Heating Plant
    The Central Heating plant is a multi-million dollar project which dramatically decreased campus GHG emissions and increased energy production efficiency.
  • E+ Program
    The E+ program designates funding for energy saving projects with a direct savings benefit.
  • Energy Audit of Holdsworth Hall
    An experiment conducted to determine the effects of behavioral changes on energy costs.
  • Energy Dashboard Program
    Energy dashboards will provide a highly visible and interactive display for day-to-day energy consumption on the UMass Amherst campus.
  • High Efficiency Lighting LED replacement bulb project
    UMass Amherst, in cooperation with DOER, NSTAR/WMECO, and Philips Lighting, installed over 1,100 LED light bulbs across campus in early 2013. The bulbs were free Energy Star qualified, dimmable, LED light bulbs. The list of reduced wattage, energy saver-bulbs, includes the Philips 9.7 watt, L-Prize, dimmable LED bulb, equivalent to a typical 60 – 75 watt incandescent light bulb, a number of LED equivalent BR and PAR flood lamps.
  • Low Flow Water Fixtures
    The total water savings for all retrofits, including toilets, urinals, showers, faucets, and water heating, will average about 10.5 million cubic feet of water annually, with associated cost savings of about $400,000.
  • Reclaimed Water Use
    The Central Heating Plant (CHP) currently utilizes the effluent from the Amherst Waste Water Treatment Plant (reclaimed water) as boiler make-up water to produce steam for the campus.