Dominican University Energy Program Sees Savings

For years, has relied on an energy-gobbling boiler system to heat and cool a small handful of buildings at the school's River Forest campus.

That began to change about two years ago, when university officials opted to eliminate the need for the boiler in the summer through a partnership with Plainfield-based DRF Trusted Property Solutions to create a custom energy system.

The project fell under the umbrella of the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program, which offers rebates for customers that install certain energy-saving products.

Now, university officials say they've already started seeing the savings. Last month, leaders with Nicor and DRF gathered at the school's Rebecca Crown Library to hand over a rebate check totaling $132,000 — savings the university says will be invested into other green projects throughout campus.

“This is just another example of Dominican’s commitment to sustainability,” said Dan Bulow, director of buildings and grounds said in a news release “It was an investment—and a risk—because we weren’t sure that the savings provided by the project would have a quick payback. But we have been pleased with how much money we saved upfront and with the relatively quick payback period of 2.5 years.”