During the 2024 winter break campus holiday, IU Indianapolis Campus Facilites Services (CFS) put 17 campus buildings into a deep setback as outlined in the IU Climate Action Plan (CAP). Deep setbacks include reducing heating or cooling beyond the university's temperature set points and altering air handler settings. These efforts resulted in a ~24% reduction in electricity consumption compared to normal operations. The nearly 100,000 kWh saved resulted in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 45.54 MTCDE, equivalent to powering 10.4 homes every year.
While campus closures and holidays allow for more aggressive building setbacks, CFS schedules heating and cooling on a daily basis to align with class schedules, and occupancy-based energy efficiency is carried out as a part of normal operations. Continuing to adapt dynamically to the university calendar supports energy conservation and CAP goals.
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