Bentley College Deploys Infor Software to Help Reduce Energy Consumption -- Campus Technology

Administrative and Business

Bentley College Deploys Infor Software to Help Reduce Energy Consumption

By Dian Schaffhauser
07/31/08

Bentley College of Waltham, MA is deploying Infor EAM Asset Sustainability Edition software to monitor and reduce energy consumption throughout its campus. The school currently runs Infor's EAM Enterprise Edition, which monitors the maintenance and repair of the college's assets.

The 1,670-student school is in the process of gathering data on the energy efficiency of its campus-wide assets, including air handlers, chillers, and other large equipment, which will be used to develop a preventative maintenance program that incorporates energy consumption patterns. Unlike maintenance programs that rely on pre-determined schedules for asset maintenance, the new approach will incorporate the energy consumption of assets to ensure they operate at peak energy efficiency and their lowest operating costs.

"We are aggressively moving forward to become a carbon neutral campus," said Kerri Roche, assistant director of sustainability and energy. "Infor EAM Asset Sustainability Edition will help us track our energy usage, identify trends, and proactively engage operations when energy consumption exceeds thresholds. These practices will help us reduce total consumption, which benefits the environment and cuts our energy bills."

The Infor tool provides the ability to determine the carbon footprint of assets, facilities, or entire campuses, based on energy consumption of the collective assets including their energy source, such as coal-powered electric, natural gas, or wind-powered utilities. In addition, the solution provides analysis down to individual pieces of equipment to identify excessive energy consumption and inefficiencies. The system provides real-time alerts based on energy thresholds to help users identify trends and equipment failures before they occur.

Bentley College created a 14-member sustainability taskforce comprising faculty, staff, and students to develop a campus-wide plan, which includes a recycling program with solar powered trash compactors.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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