BU received $250,000 as part of the Pennsylvania Conservation Works! (PACW) Grant Program, which were used to offset expenses related to a chiller replacement project at Carver Hall and Scranton Commons.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the PACW program supports increased energy efficiency, job creation and improved air quality.

This project also supports many of the Keystone Principles for Growth, Investment and Resource Conservation.

The BU project focused on replacing two individual chillers — a 50-ton, air-cooled unit at Carver Hall and a 170-ton, water-cooled unit at Scranton Commons — with a 220-ton, water-cooled, magnetic compressor chiller. The high-efficiency unit is housed in Scranton Commons’ mechanical room with chilled water lines running between Scranton Commons and the adjacent Carver Hall.

Replacing the existing units with a magnetic compressor chiller is expected to reduce annual energy use for these systems by 51 percent and save more than $12,000 in energy costs.

This project also supports BU’s efforts to help reduce nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, harmful emissions associated with the production of electricity.

The chiller and cooling tower installed as part of this project were manufactured in the United States and comply with the “Made in America” provisions of the PACW Grant. Siemens Industry Inc., Mechanicsburg, provided engineering and project management services.