NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. 鈥� When we think of “blankets,” we’re usually thinking of keeping something (or more likely someone) warm 鈥� seldom does the notion of saving seven figures enter the equation. For the energy manager at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., however, well-deployed insulating blankets on the university’s heating and cooling system resulted in a $1 million net savings over the course of eight years.
From 2009 to 2017, George Mason University鈥檚 Fairfax, Va., campus installed more than 725 custom-engineered reusable blankets on boilers, valves and pumps in its central heating and cooling plant (CHCP); valves, fittings and expansion joints in tunnel vaults; and fittings and valves in mechanical rooms. The blankets were created by North Tonawanda, N.Y.-based of W. N.Y. Inc., a designer and manufacturer of reusable thermal and acoustic insulation.
鈥淏y reducing heat loss and energy, we got a payback in under 15 months with our reusable blankets,鈥� said Patrick Buchanan, university energy manager for George Mason, in a statement. 鈥淲ith the blankets installed we can safely work alongside the valves and fittings, and the ambient temperature has dropped from extreme to comfortable.鈥�
Buchanan calculated the milestone based on annual energy savings accumulated from using the self-contained, reusable system. In early 2009, Shannon and its Virginia manufacturer鈥檚 representative CVA Energy & Industrial Products Inc. teamed up to survey the university鈥檚 equipment for radiant heat loss and to provide a solution for saving energy, minimizing insulation maintenance and eliminating safety concerns across the Fairfax campus. Shannon鈥檚 team precisely measured the university鈥檚 CHCP equipment and high-temperature-hot-water (HTHW) components, so it could produce a reusable blanket to exactly fit each component or piece of equipment.
鈥淲e paid for the blankets through a voluntary demand response program with CPower Energy Management, which compensated us for reducing electric load when asked by our utility,鈥� Buchanan’s statement continued.
The university鈥檚 CHCP equipment and HTHW components provide a heating capacity of approximately 115,000 MMBtu to more than 145 buildings. According to Buchanan, the George Mason facilities footprint grew from roughly 3.5 million square feet in 2006 to 9 million square feet today, yet the university鈥檚 energy costs only increased 20 percent.
鈥淩eusable blankets were definitely part of keeping energy costs low during this period,鈥� said Buchanan in a statement.