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Learn how UCSD generates and manages electricity and heat, making it less reliant on commercial utility providers and reducing pollution.
UCSD is committed to conserving energy in cooperation with statewide load-reduction initiatives and with UC standards. The campus has been recognized for its efforts to preserve natural resources.
UCSD operates a cogeneration facility that supplies approximately 88% of the campus's electricity, making it less reliant on commercial utility providers. Cogeneration uses one fuel source (natural gas) to produce two forms of energy (electricity and heat). State-of–the-art gas turbines equipped with pollution controls are 45-50% more efficient than conventional natural gas power plants and produce 75% fewer emissions.
In addition to saving approximately $8 million per year in purchased utilities costs, cogeneration reduces:
All major campus buildings are networked to an Energy Management System (EMS). This computerized system centrally controls building mechanical systems based on occupancy. The EMS is programmed to reduce energy use in buildings during nights, weekends, and holidays. Simply by changing campuswide room temperature settings, UCSD can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.