Case Study: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill achieves up to 33% improved energy efficiency and $10,000 in eight-month savings with Accruent

How the school slashed energy use by syncing EMS with Events2HVAC and switching to LED, for cooling efficiency gains of 33% and heating gains of 17%

The Carolina Union at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which manages more than 2,000 events and 10,000 meetings a year, found its HVAC running indiscriminately from 6:00 am to midnight regardless of room occupancy. Facility staff wanted to use existing EMS schedules to prevent heating and cooling empty rooms and reduce energy waste while maintaining comfort for scheduled events.

They deployed Events2HVAC to link EMS schedules to their Johnson Controls MSEA system for 26 rooms (about one-third of the building, including a 5,200 sq ft great hall and a 3,100 sq ft auditorium) and set HVAC to revert to unoccupied settings between events; an LED lighting upgrade was also installed. Over an eight-month, weather‑normalized comparison with the prior year, electricity efficiency for cooling improved 33%, heating-related electricity efficiency improved 17%, chilled water efficiency rose 29%, and the measures yielded about $10,000 in electricity savings.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ken Miskow

Union’s Building Operations Manager