Case Study: Western Carolina University achieves 55% BTU per square foot reduction and cuts energy costs with Brightly Software’s Energy Manager

Western Carolina University Cuts Costs and Energy Usage with Brightly's Energy Manager

Western Carolina University, a public campus in Cullowhee, NC serving over 11,000 students across 682 acres with a $5M utility budget, was tracking energy with spreadsheets and a single aggregated Duke Energy invoice. Director of Energy and Utilities Reid Conway aimed to build a culture of sustainability but lacked building-level visibility and timely data to cut costs and improve efficiency.

By implementing Brightly’s Energy Manager and using its Allocations feature with meter-based distribution, the university gained building- and meter-level visibility, streamlined monthly and annual reporting, and could compare usage historically. The data helped prioritize upgrades, site events in the most efficient buildings, and guide a conversion from electric to natural gas—resulting in a 55% reduction in BTU per square foot (leading the UNC system) and ongoing energy and cost savings.

Western Carolina University

Reid Conway

Director of Energy and Utilities