More than 350 buildings on campus are connected to and controlled by a building automation system, which uses a secure computer network to centralize the remote monitoring and control of electricity, lighting, plumbing, ventilation, air conditioning and other environmental systems. Many Penn State campuses across the state, including Harrisburg, Altoona and Erie, The Behrend College, also use digital automation systems for managing building settings.
Through the Reinvention Fund, the Sustainability Institute’s internal grant program, Penn State has invested more than $875,000 in collaborative projects intended to improve and expand sustainability efforts across the institution. Faculty/staff teams have received $773,485, and an additional $102,884 was dedicated to support proposals submitted by student teams.
If every on-campus student at University Park reduced his or her time in the shower by just five minutes, Penn State would save 100,000 gallons of water each school year. That is enough to fill five swimming pools and lower the University's carbon footprint by 18,980 pounds every year.
