Over the last several years, NIU has made many aspects of its campus more eco-friendly, and this summer was no different.

Many of these improvements, added to campus this summer, include changes in the Stevenson and Douglas residence halls. Low-flow toilets, shower heads and automatic faucets have been installed to reduce water use according to Mary Alice Drain, NIU energy specialist.

Drain said insulated doors and windows were installed in Anderson Hall to conserve energy, which limit heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. Computer automation was installed in the summer to control systems for boilers and chillers to improve the efficiency of heating and cooling operations, she said.

Additional green installments included motion-operated sensors for lighting fixtures in Adams, Anderson, Williston, and Wirtz halls, she said.

“Motion sensors conserve electricity by turning off lights in rooms when they aren’t in use,” Drain said.

In 2007, NIU made green changes to Anderson and Gable. The swimming pools’ heating systems in these buildings were converted from gas to solar, Drain said.

In 2006, single-pane windows and doors were replaced with insulated glass to central campus academic buildings, Drain said. Also added were operating windows with enhanced ventilation and temperature control.

Between 2001-2003, 62 conventional lighting fixtures for on-campus buildings were replaced with energy efficient fixtures which use lower toxin bulbs, Drain said.

Drain hopes NIU provides an example for others to go green and is happy with NIU’s progress over the last several years.

“Better still would be to serve as an example, and . . . to increase our awareness and our actions toward the efficiency that truly green management logically implies,” Drain said.

Megan Krok, office support associate for Building Services, said the department has added ‘green’ cleaning products.

“We have replaced some of our traditional harsh chemical cleaning compounds for ones that use citrus, hydrogen and soy,” Krok said.

Senior sociology major Aja Humphreys thinks it’s a good idea for NIU to go green to help the environment and save money.

“I think it’s helping for the air to be cleaner,” Humphreys said.

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