Energy Conservation Initiative
The cheapest and cleanest energy is that which is not used. The Energy Conservation Initiative reduces campus-wide energy consumption and helps the campus meet the target goal of carbon neutrality by 2035 by targeting efficiency projects in heating, cooling, building systems, and lighting. The program launched in 2000 and continues today.
The Energy Conservation Initiative (ECI) studies and identifies high-impact energy-saving projects across the Ithaca campus, as well as in off-campus contract colleges and real estate holdings for the University. ECI is managed by a dedicated team in the Energy Management Department who identify and implement three types of upgrades: building automation & controls, heat recovery, and lighting systems.
As of the early 2020s, the ECI program at Cornell had saved the University over $52 million dollars and avoided over 231,000 MTCO2e, or greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Browse data about our progress to neutrality to understand the impact of ECI projects in context.
ECI Project Savings
Cornell uses the Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) to track and calculate project-level energy, financial, and carbon savings data for all ECI projects and efficiency improvements. Check out Cornell's GRITS public dashboard.
The energy saving benefits of Cornell's ECI approach are substantial. As of early 2021, ECI projects had saved the University a cumulative 2.5 billion mmbtus, which is equivalent to taking our Central Energy Plant completely off-line for one year. The CEP is powered by natural gas, meaning ECI projects have significantly reduced Cornell's carbon footprint and prepared the institution to transition to renewable energy with a lower overall energy load.
Another way to understand these savings is through Cornell's "flat line energy use" since 2000. The greenest energy, and the best for reducing climate change impacts, is the energy we never use. Cornell University has seen flat energy use since 2000 as a result of energy conservation efforts, in spite of campus square footage growing by 20% during that same time.
Explore ECI Impacts
Use this page to explore energy and carbon savings by individual project, by project type, or by phase of work (periods of time). This information can be used to better understand the benefits of investing in energy conservation projects, and incentivize further investment across the Cornell campus in similar work.
Energy Savings
As of Spring 2021, Cornell had realized 2,481,349 MMBTUs of cumulative energy savings from ECI projects.
Financial Savings
As of Spring 2021, Cornell had realized $52.5 million in cumulative financial savings. Note that many projects have an anticipated payback which extends well in to the future.
Carbon Savings
As of Spring 2021, Cornell had abated 231,361 MTCO2E or equivalent greenhouse emissions to date. This is roughly equivalent to avoiding emissions from 27,861 American homes per year, or having eliminated 535,650 barrels of oil from being consumed. Equivalencies created by the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
Featured Projects
Browse recent projects for an in-depth look at how ECI benefits the Cornell campus.
The LED Replacement Project kicked off in 2014 and was completed in 2019, with the replacement of 156,000 four-foot fluorescent tube lamps with more energy-efficient lighting across a significant portion of campus buildings.
By replacing traditional fluorescent lighting with high-efficient LED tubes with a longer life, Cornell has realized $635,000 in savings annually, and over $8 million in total savings over the lifetime of the bulbs' expected life. In addition, the project saves over 8.5 million kWh of energy annually, equating to an annual carbon savings of 3,370 MTCO2e.
Learn more about this project:
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Campus-Wide LED Lighting GRITS Data : Click this link to see a detailed project summary on GRITS including carbon savings, financial savings to date, ROI, and other data.
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News: Lighting upgrades save Cornell $2.9 million, reduce carbon footprint, Campus Sustainability Office November 7, 2019

The Biotechnology Controls Upgrade project was completed in 2019, with a 5.2 year payback period on upgrades to the way the building heated and cooled based on occupancy rather than time-of-day schedules. The project is anticipated to save 11,000 MTCO2e over it's lifetime. (See information on Cornell's greenhouse gas inventory for context about these savings relative to campus emissions).
The project upgrades improved performance in 140 lab and classroom spaces, as well as 2 event spaces, adding occupancy-based digital controls. The removal of 96, 1 hp, booster fans and sound attenuators, which were associated with 88 fume hoods, will reduce electrical consumption and maintenance costs. Variable speed drives were also equipped with flow stations to manage airflows.
Learn more about this project:
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Biotechnology Building Controls Upgrades and Booster Fan Removal GRITS Data: Click this link to see a detailed project summary on GRITS including carbon savings, financial savings to date, ROI, and other data.
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Biotechnology Building Controls Upgrades and Booster Fan Removal (pdf)
Request PDF in an accessible format at sustainability@cornell.edu
Click here for larger image
Bard Hall, a building with many energy-intensive labs primarily used by the College of Engineering, underwent an upgrade to the air handling units (AHUs).
The Bard Hall Heat Recovery Project was implemented in 2018 at a cost of $368,000, with annual cost savings of approximately $48,600, or a 7.6 year payback time. The project installed a glycol run-around loop that recovers heat from laboratory exhaust fans, and uses it to preheat air used for heating. Typical AHUs use 100% outside air for heating and cooling. The new system recaptures 45% of the waste energy from fume hoods or exhaust grills.
This project not only reduces total energy consumption throughout the year but significantly reduces building load on peak days avoiding the need for supplemental heating or cooling equipment, and makes our campus more resilient to intense weather conditions.
Learn more about this project:
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Bard Hall Heat Recovery GRITS Data: Click this link to see a detailed project summary on GRITS including carbon savings, financial savings to date, ROI, and other data.
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Bard Hall Savings Summary (PDF)
Request PDF in an accessible format at sustainability@cornell.edu
Explore All Projects
The Energy Conservation Initiative has funded and implemented projects in several phases. Each phase had different priorities and funding criteria - for instance, early work prioritized projects with a shorter payback period of 7 to 10 years, while later phases of work have tackled projects with a longer payback period.
Each project has a summary page (external links) describing the project, its carbon and financial savings, and projections for payback, ROI, and other metrics. (Note: in addition to Phases 1, 2, and 3, ECI also has a "Phase 0" set of projects which occurred from 2000-2008 however, project data was not tracked during this time with the same level of detail as remaining projects captured below).
Phase 1 (2008-2015)
Phase 1 allocated roughly $33M towards projects for a 7 or 10-year payback. The Climate Action Plan projected up to a 5% reduction of the campus carbon footprint from ECI projects in Phase 1 and 2.
Building Control Projects
Lighting Projects
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Campus-Wide LED Tube Replacement Lighting Upgrade (Featured Project, see above)
Equipment & Appliances
Building Envelope
Phase 2 (2015-2020)
In Phase 2, the payback period was stretched to 10-15 years, enabling further energy reductions and deeper retrofits to lighting, HVAC systems, and more.
Building Control Projects
- Bard Hall Heat Recovery
- Barton Lab Geneva Controls and HVAC Upgrade
- Biotechnology Building (1018) Controls Upgrades and Booster Fan Removal
- Emerson Hall (1028E) Controls Upgrade and Valve Replacement
- Johnson Art Museum Controls Upgrade
- Olin Library (2047) Controls Upgrade
- Thurston Hall Heat Recovery
- Veterinary Medical Center
Lighting Projects
Phase 3 (2020-Today)
As of 2020, Phase 3 is currently underway, with new projects identified through carbon, financial, and human benefit potential. Check this page for updates as projects that are underway are completed.