United States.
Trane has presented its Leader in Energy Efficiency Award to Belmont University, a Christian teaching college based in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides liberal arts and professional education to more than 7,400 students.
Each year, Trane recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to implementing best practices in energy efficiency and sustainability. Belmont University was selected as the first of only two recipients to be recognized in 2016.
With enrollment doubling in 15 years, Belmont University grew from a 1.5 million-square-foot campus to a 4-million-square-foot campus. Leaders engaged in design and improvements in energy efficiency to obtain energy costs that increased only 10%, despite an increase of more than 70% of square meters of construction. These improvements represent a greater long-term commitment to sustainability that reflects the university's commitment to environmental management.
Recent enhancements at Belmont University include implementing an integrated campus-wide system of controls to track energy use, proactively managing costs and generating better operational decisions. The enhancements allow the university facilities team to use the web-based tool to manage operational performance, across individual buildings or across the campus, on most personal computers, tablets and smartphones.
The university also has a geothermal heating and cooling system under the R. Milton and Denice Johnson center using the earth's natural temperature to regulate the indoor climate.
