The Texas LoanSTAR Program
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Purpose
The LoanSTAR program is Texas' own program designed to "Save Taxes And Resources"
by monitoring energy use and recommending energy-saving retrofits. In 1988,
the Texas Governor's Energy Office (now known as the State
Energy Conservation Office) received approval from the U. S. Department
of Energy to establish a statewide retrofit demonstration program. The initial
capital came from oil overcharge funds. The LoanSTAR program is designed to
demonstrate commercially available, energy efficient, retrofit technologies
and techniques. Part of the approved DOE program includes monitoring the buildings
to determine the effectiveness of the conservation retrofits. The
Energy Systems Labratory is responsible for metering the buildings and analyzing
the energy savings. LoanSTAR has already generated $109 million in savings (as
of January 2002 ) for Texas taxpayers, and the program is projected to save
another $250 million over the next 20 years.
Loans
State agencies, such as schools and public buildings, may apply for
loans to make recommended retrofits. Participants must repay the
loans in four years or less based on estimated energy savings.
In most cases repayment is made from savings generated by the
cost-effective retrofit measures. State agencies are also authorized
to repay these loans from general revenue funds budgeted for utilities.
Once the loans are repaid, the savings are available for the agencies.
Types of Retrofits
Savings-generating retrofits to buildings include installing variable
speed pumps and variable air volume systems, upgrading heating and air
conditioning systems, and installing high efficiency chillers, energy
management control systems, high efficiency lighting systems and thermal
storage systems.
Verifying Savings
Before the retrofits can be installed, a building must be audited for its
energy use and efficiency. Once the retrofits have been approved,
LoanSTAR Consortium personnel install monitoring equipment and begin
measuring energy use for each building. This Monitoring Analysis Program
(MAP) is one of the first comprehensive metering and monitoring programs
established in the United States. Each month the MAP personnel verify and
analyze the savings for each building and provide the building operators
with a six-page Monthly Energy Consumption Report
(MECR). The report summarizes energy use, shows hourly, daily and
weekly use patterns, and provides comments on the past month's performance.
The report provides data that helps building operators make changes
in daily operation and maintenance to enhance energy savings and demonstrates
cost-effectiveness of the retrofits.
Beneficiaries
A prime example of how much one building can save is the Zachry Engineering
Center (ZEC), located on the Texas A&M University campus. The 324,000 sq.ft.
classroom and office building was built in the 1970s when energy costs were
less important than construction costs. The ZEC's air handling system had
constant speed fans running 24 hours a day. The recommended retrofit was
to replace the constant volume system with a variable air volume system.
The ZEC saves as much as $25,000 per month from its retrofit.
Texas A&M has not been the only recipient of energy savings.
Sixteen buildings at the University of Texas have also been retrofitted.
UT's energy bill decreased 30% as a result of its retrofits. Other
beneficiaries of LoanSTAR retrofits include the University of Texas
at Arlington, the Fort Worth and Victoria Independent School Districts,
the Ward Memorial Hospital in Monahans, the University of
Texas-Pan American and the Texas State Technical College in Harlingen.
State-owned buildings at the Texas Capitol Complex, in Houston, Midland,
and Nacogdoches are also being retrofitted.
What's Ahead
Although originally designed to provide revolving, low-interest loans
to pay for energy-conservation retrofits to state public buildings,
LoanSTAR is now being closely examined as a model for other states
and the Federal energy efficiency program.
Return to the Energy Systems Lab home page.
Adapted from Energy Systems Update v.1, n.1., and Turner, et. al., 1992.