A Science Museum Energy Innovation Story
Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of all energy consumption in the United States. Imagine the economic, employment, equity, education, and environmental benefits if energy-innovative buildings were not rare, but commonplace!
The Science Museum’s Energy Innovation Story
Like all large, modern buildings, the Science Museum uses a lot of energy. In 2010, we conducted a top-to-bottom energy analysis and learned we were using as much electricity as 300 households in an 18-block area of St. Paul!
Finding solutions
In 2013, the museum began exploring how to make our building more energy-efficient, starting with the installation of a new building automation system and heat recovery chillers. The goals? To reduce emissions contributing to climate change, save money and, of course, ensure the comfort of the visitors and staff that use our space every day.
A reduction in energy use — and a big cost savings!
As a result, the Science Museum has reduced our energy use by 39 percent! Our energy spending is virtually unchanged from when it opened in our riverfront location in 1999, even though energy costs have doubled in that same period of time. If the museum was using as much energy now as it was in the early 2000s, our annual utility bills would be $600,000 higher!
Through our energy efficiency efforts and our purchases of carbon-neutral electricity from Xcel Energy and carbon-neutral chilled water from District Energy St. Paul, the museum has slashed our emissions that contribute to climate change by 90 percent since their peak in 2014. We’re now examining how to employ these existing tools in new ways while also pursuing new strategies.
Moving toward an ambitious goal
The Science Museum is on track to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 while continuing to improve the energy performance of all of our buildings.
Join us as we strive to serve as an example of how buildings can help combat climate change!
Thank you to our partners at Target, Wells Fargo, Ecolab, Xcel Energy, Saint Paul Port Authority, and Trane Technologies for making the museum's energy innovations possible.
