Plug Load Equipment Inventory Expands

In summer 2014, Office of Sustainability conducted an inventory of 55 types of plug load equipment in 220 buildings on Stanford’s campus. Data were recorded on over 110,000 pieces of electronic equipment, which together account for $6.8 million in electricity costs per year. The data informed the development of five data-driven programs to reduce plug load electricity consumption. However, the 220 buildings included in the inventory made up approximately 60% of the total gross square footage of the campus, so a significant number of plug loads remained unaccounted for. The vast majority of the buildings not initially inventoried were student residences.

Based on the success of the initial equipment inventory, the decision was made to expand it in summer 2015. Two Office of Sustainability interns led this survey of buildings both on and off campus. Data for off-campus buildings will inform plug load reduction opportunities specifically for those buildings, where utility rates are slightly higher than for buildings served by Stanford Utilities. Data collected in additional School of Medicine buildings will complete the picture of campus lab loads, which are currently estimated to make up about 50% of Stanford’s plug load energy consumption. Finally, data collected in Residential & Dining Enterprises buildings will allow Stanford to not only account for all administrative spaces on campus, but also gain a better understanding of plug loads in select student residences, which will allow operations staff to estimate nearly 100% of plug loads on campus.