The Calvin Energy Recovery Fund (CERF) has implemented its largest project yet, installing a $200,000 variable frequency drive (VFD) on Calvin’s cooling system this summer.
The cooling system pumps cold water across Calvin’s campus to feed the coils of air conditioning units. “Mechanically, VFDs work by regulating the speed of motors. Instead of running at full blast all the time, they adjust based on demand, which saves a lot of energy,” said Jack Klop, a senior Environmental Engineering student and the CERF intern leading the project. The VFD unit was installed this summer and is now saving energy and money for the university.
According to Brett Hoogewind, Associate Director of Facilities, the VFD unit is “one step in a multi-million dollar plan to update Calvin’s heating and cooling system over the next 10-15 years.”
“The VFD project came out of proposals through CERF, with support from Facilities. It’s part of the broader goal of cutting energy use and improving campus infrastructure,” said Klop.
Future projects from facilities will tackle much-needed updates and modernization of the heating and cooling systems that will grant even further control, down to individual classrooms and offices, Hoogewind explained.
Senior Collin Michele commented on his personal experience in classrooms with inefficient cooling systems. “As an education major, I sometimes spend hours in back-to-back classes in Spoelhof. Even on an 80-degree day, I feel like I have to bring a winter coat to class to stay warm because the cold air is just blasting.”
According to Klop, students can expect “improved comfort” as the new projects targeting Calvin’s air conditioning will give Facilities better control over the system.
“This project was made possible by the investment from the CERF team. Without them, it would have taken a few more years before we would have been able to do something like this,” said Hoogewind.
CERF works via a model known as a green revolving fund, where projects generate cost savings that are initially used to pay back the original investment before accumulating in the fund for a period of 5 years. The payback period for the VFD project is 2.9 years, with a projected $400,000 in cost savings added to the fund by the end of the five year period.
As the CERF team gears up for another year of proposing, implementing and tracking energy-saving projects on campus, Klop was excited for new possibilities as “projects like this build savings for future investments.”
