Energy director reaches out

Before coming to UNC, Chris Martin, director of UNC Energy Management, spent 10 years in one of the harshest climates in the world: Antarctica.

Working to heat facilities used by scientists in the seventh, least-known continent, Martin said he discovered that no matter what the climate, energy conservation and environmental protection are possible.

Now, as he settles into his one-year-old job on campus, Martin’s two passions — engineering and the environment — have come together.

“I did not intend my career to be necessarily in the energy field nor in the environmental area as well,” Martin said.

“But what I found was while working in facilities, I saw great potential in energy efficiency improvements, and I got more and more interested in energy conservation just because of the great potential that was there and the impact it would have.”

A new campuswide energy policy implemented in July is pushing Martin into the open, forcing him to interact with the student body and teach them what he has learned about the importance of efficient energy management.

After graduating from North Carolina State University’s mechanical engineering program, Martin didn’t think much about environmental conservation. But as an engineer, he said, it’s only natural to think about solutions to inefficiencies.

He began to understand exactly how energy inefficiencies could be limited when he was in Antarctica.

“You would tend to think of heating and providing a comfortable place to stay in the harshest climate in the world,” Martin said.

“But even in the most inhospitable climate such as that, there was a great deal of opportunity to save energy there and reduce the environmental impact in what is one of our most pristine continents left.”

Now his attention is turned to energy efficiency at UNC. The new energy policy is a behavioral policy, seeking to educate faculty, students and staff on how to actively participate in campus energy management.

Cindy Shea, director of the UNC Sustainability Office, is working with Martin and his department to implement the new policy.

Although Shea admitted that these behavioral modifications are nothing new, she said she thinks students are more concerned now about environmental conservation than ever before.

“Unfortunately, some people have perceived conservation as a burden as opposed to an opportunity,” she said. “I think more and more people are recognizing that investing in energy efficiency is a great return on your money.”

As it stands, the legislature pays most of the University’s energy bills, so departments aren’t aware of how much its building’s occupants are spending.

Martin and his department would like to create an energy “dashboard” that would be accessible online. It would show the University community the cost and use of energy in every department so people can measure their energy conservation activities.

“The great conscience of the University — environmental sensitivity — hopefully will engage that information and react to it. If it’s not a financially driven incentive at least it’s sensitivity-driven,” Martin said.

 

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.