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NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY BEHRAKIS HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

CHALLENGE

This seven-story facility housing the Schools of Health Professions, Nursing, and Pharmacy includes classrooms, lecture halls, office space, and teaching labs with fume hoods. With its own central heating and cooling plants, the building had high energy use and numerous occupant complaints. investigation

OPPORTUNITY

This major cost center consumed approx. 4M kWh of electricity and 41M pounds of steam annually with energy costs exceeding $600,000. B2Q performed an ASHRAE Level II audit and comprehensive retro-commissioning (RCx) investigation. To quantify the value of these energy savings, B2Q created an eQUEST energy model, precisely calibrated to existing equipment operations and building meter energy use.

  • 33% reduction in electrical consumption

  • 32% reduction in steam use

  • $319,000 annual energy cost reductions

  • 3.2-year simple payback with utility incentives

RESULTS

B2Qs efforts identified 16 energy-efficiency measures and financial benefits including:

Market:

Colleges and Universities

Services:

Energy Efficiency and Analysis
Building Systems
Building Commissioning

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The ETIC RCx project was an outstanding success, delivering verified energy savings and operational improvements that exceeded UMass Lowell’s expectations. The project achieved impressive annual cost savings—10% higher than initially projected—while reducing energy intensity by 14% for UMass Lowell’s third-largest utility account.

Beyond cost savings, the initiative delivered significant environmental benefits, cutting annual carbon emissions by 530,000 lbCO2e. Additionally, it enhanced lab safety through robust lab pressurization tracking and the recalibration of all terminal devices.

This success was made possible through the unwavering collaboration between UMass Lowell, B2Q, and NGRID, demonstrating the power of partnership and a shared commitment to cost efficiency, sustainability, and operational excellence.

Daniel Abrahamson 
University of Massachusetts Amherst

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