BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. — Florida A&M University (FAMU) has chosen Siemens to implement a $12.2 million performance contract that is expected to save the university approximately $1.2 million in equivalent guaranteed annual energy savings.

In 2009, FAMU engaged Siemens to deliver Phase 1 of its efficiency project, a $2.4 million performance contract that successfully introduced the university to the energy efficiency and financial benefits of this method of project delivery. Much broader in scope than Phase 1, Phase 2 aims to partially decentralize FAMU’s obsolete central steam plant heating system — an element of the overall project that is putting local contractors to work.

“Our first project with Siemens gave us the opportunity to see first hand the financial and operational effectiveness of performance contracting,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “We are moving forward with Phase 2 — a project that will yield tremendous energy savings and support campus sustainability measures far into the future.”

The 18-month project which began in May includes a multitude of facility infrastructure improvements including the steam system infrastructure renovation, an advanced solar-thermal heating system for the swimming pool, central chilled water and steam plant improvements, building automation improvements, and ventilation and dehumidification improvements for the library.

Because plans call for partial decentralization of the steam heating plant and the implementation of other facility improvement measures to campus buildings, energy savings are projected to be significant. For example, natural gas consumption will be reduced 42.6 percent, which represents an annual equivalent savings of $706,204. Electricity consumption will be reduced 12.1 percent, creating some $563,909 in equivalent cost savings on top of reductions and savings that came from implementing Phase 1.

Siemens experience in delivering performance contracts to higher education institutions served to boost the confidence of school officials anxious about the ambitions of the project. “On many levels Siemens worked with the FAMU facilities personnel to help them understand that other universities with similar campus profiles in the southern United States have successfully decentralized their steam systems,” said Dave Hopping, vice president and building automation business unit lead for Siemens Building Technologies. “We worked closely with these schools so FAMU officials could see for themselves how well these improvements can work to increase efficiency.”

For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies.

Publication date: 9/3/2012