I n a t i m e w h e r e u t i l i t y co s t s a r e co n s t a n t l y r i s i n g , S u l Ro s s S t a te U n i ve r s i t y h a s m a d e m a j o r r e d u c t i o n s i n e n e r g y co n s u m p t i o n o n c a m p u s . T h e h u g e r e d u c t i o n i n e n e r g y co n s u m p t i o n i s c r e d i te d l a r g e l y to E n e r –Te l ’s wo r k o n t h e i r H VAC co n t r o l s s y s te m s .

We felt very confident that we had both the right product and the right contractor... so we pulled the trigger on it. Results were immediate.

D i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h t h e p e r fo r m a n ce o f t h e i r H VAC co n t r o l s s y s te m s l e d o f f i c i a l s a t S u l Ro s s to r e s e a r c h o t h e r o p t i o n s . T h e n , u n i ve r s i t y o f f i c i a l s c r e a te d a p u n c h l i s t o f q u a l i t i e s t h ey wo u l d r eq u i r e i n t h e i r n ex t s y s te m . E n e r –Te l s u g g e s te d co n ve r t i n g t h e H VAC co n t r o l s s y s te m to a n ew p r o g r a m t h a t s a t i s f i e d a l l o f S u l Ro s s ’ r eq u i r e m e n t s , a n d t h e r e s u l t s we r e r e m a r k a b l e . I n f a c t , a l l o f t h e b u i l d i n g s o n S R S U ’s m a i n c a m p u s h a ve b ee n co n ve r te d to E n e r –Te l ’s H VAC co n t r o l s s y s te m a n d e n e r g y co n s u m p t i o n co n t i n u e s to d r o p .

Jim ClouseAssociate Vice President – Facilities Planning, Construction and Operations

Sul Ross State University

Ener–Tel Services, Inc. Case Study

Sul Ross State University – HVAC Controls

Ener–Tel Services, Inc. 4512 Adobe DriveSan Angelo, Texas

76902

Web Siteener-tel.com

Phone866-658-8375

Ener–Tel is the leader in HVAC

automation, access control,

high-end security systems, fire

alarm systems, audio/video

systems, and many other

cutting-edge technologies.

THE CUSTOMERSul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas. The SRSU central campus consists of 24 buildings on 95 acres. SRSU also has a 468 acre working ranch to serve its animal science program. Utilities and support services are provided to 63 buildings throughout the entire campus which contain more than one million square feet1.

Ener–Tel currently provides CCTV, life safety, and building automation systems in 24 buildings of the SRSU central campus.

THE CHALLENGEIn 2010, SRSU officials embarked on a campus-wide energy saving campaign. A key component of the campaign included finding, designing and implementing an HVAC controls system that would meet the following requirements:

• System maintenance needs to be user-friendly. Troubleshooting and upkeep needs to be performed locally, by SRSU technicians.

• System design needs to be a custom fit for the purpose and physical layout of SRSU campus buildings.

• System function needs to be dependable, and expandable over a long period of time.

• System operation needs to contribute heavily toward energy savings.

When university officials first met with Ener-Tel, they had a variety of different HVAC controls systems in different buildings. Each of the existing systems failed to meet one or more of the requirements.

THE SOLUTIONAn Ener-Tel rep suggested Andover controls for SRSU’s existing HVAC systems. Andover controls addressed each of the system requirements, and have since been implemented in all of the HVAC systems on the SRSU campus.

Maintenance and upkeep of the new HVAC systems can now be done by SRSU technicians. Alpine is in a remote area of west Texas, and having technicians drive out was neither cost- nor time-effective. The new HVAC systems were also built with the purpose and physical layout of each campus building in mind. One-size-fits-all approaches to energy management are a lower initial investment, but do not reduce utility costs as much as a custom system.

The function of Ener–Tel’s HVAC systems is very dependable. More

1http://www.sulross.edu/section/2100/facilities-planning-construction-and-operations

2http://www.sulross.edu/sites/default/files//sites/default/files/users/docs/facilities_op/electric_usage_graph_2.pdf

importantly, though, it is built to accomodate growth and can easily expand concurrent with the growth of the campus.

Finally, the HVAC systems have made an incredible difference in the energy bills on SRSU’s campus. This benefit alone has been the most impressive to SRSU officials. (See Figure 1.)

Jim Clouse, Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning, Construction and Operations said, “I think you can contribute a significant amount of those savings to the Ener-Tel controls, the Ener-Tel Andover system and the Ener-Tel presence on our campus.”

“Looking at that graph,” Clouse continued, “you can see immediate results.”

Thanks to Ener–Tel,

the HVAC systems

at Sul Ross are more

user-friendly, more

dependable, and

have significantly

reduced operational

costs.

You guys are the real deal.

We have great success with you. You are a tremendous help to

our campus. We plan to continue using you guys for a long time.

Jim ClouseAssociate Vice President

Facilities Planning, Construction and OperationsSul Ross State University

Figure 1.1

SRSU Electric Consumption by unit (KwH)

Contact us at sales@ener-tel.com or visit ener-tel.com for more information