ANU Acton campus is home to thousands of students and visitors who live, study, and work on campus. Our campus has research and teaching spaces and energy-intensive facilities supporting our community in producing world-leading research and learning activities, such as the National Computational Infrastructure, which houses one of Australia's most powerful supercomputers. Our buildings and infrastructure are essential for our continued impact and engagement with our community and region.
As ANU is one of the largest energy users in the ACT, the primary goal of the energy management pillar in our Environmental Management Plan 2022-2025 is to optimise the energy efficiency of our built environment, controls and processes. We aim to reduce energy consumption by 10% by 2025, compared to 2019 levels. To achieve this, we are working to manage and reduce our energy consumption by improving the energy efficiency of our lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling systems, upgrading our infrastructure and helping staff and students to be more energy smart. Read more about our energy efficiency projects below.
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Switching to LEDs
The University is working to switch to LED lighting to improve energy efficiency. LED lighting uses approximately 75% less energy than transitional incandescent lighting, which helps to reduce our energy use, improve efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint. Recently, the following buildings have been upgraded:
- LED lighting in the Engineering, Wooley and Baldessin buildings
- LED lighting with motion sensor controls in the Chancelry buildings 10A and 10B, and Hayden Allen, Copeland and Fulton Muir buildings.
Improving our heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC)
Upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and controls can reduce energy consumption and enhance efficiency while providing a more comfortable working environment for our community. The University is working to optimise its systems to reduce our environmental impact. More recent improvements include:
- Adjusting the operational hours of the systems in the Birch and Crawford buildings and at 121 Marcus Clarke Street.
- Tuning the controls of the Kambri central plant and College of Science central plant heat exchanger.
- Addition of demand control ventilation (CO2 control) to Lewellyn Hall, CSIT and Peter Karmel building air handling units, and the modification of the setpoint control methodology in the Linnaeus building unit.
- Installation of higher efficiency air conditioning units in the Nuclear Physics building and Melville Hall.
- Installation of higher efficiency chillers at the John Curtin School of Medical Research and Wes Witten building.
- Closure of bypass values in the Chiefly building to reduce energy requirements, and the installation of an outside air lockout in the Beryl Rawson chiller to prevent operation during low ambient temperatures.
- Reviewed all building time schedules in our building management system, identifying and changing settings to improve efficiencies.
Infrastructure and building management improvements
Upgrades to our infrastructure including upgrades to the building fabric and window glazing can improve the energy efficiency of our facilities and reduce energy consumption, while improving the comfort of building occupants. Some of these upgrades in recent years include:
- The building fabric at the Wooley building has been upgraded.
- Installed ceiling insulation in Chancelry buildings 10A and 10B.
- Installed new high-performance glazing in Building 18 (ANU Sport and Griffin Hall).
Community engagement
Our community is essential in reducing our energy consumption and enhancing efficiency. Encouraging collective action, shared responsibility and behavioural change can help lead to reducing our environmental footprint. Ongoing programs include:
- ANU Green Connect program – to connect with building custodians to identify opportunities for energy efficiency and behavioural improvements in local areas regarding energy and water use, circular economy and reducing waste bin contamination. This program aims to empower building custodians and occupants to lead sustainability action in their local areas.
- Working with contract managers to highlight opportunities for efficiency improvements in the Kambri Precinct and Student Accommodation to reduce energy usage.