Carbon Dioxide Emissions Sources and History

Building Area and Energy Use Per Square Foot
Building area on Williams' campus has increased from 1,916,865.00 to 2,291,638.00 square feet from 1991 to 2005, and planned building projects will further increase building area. Increased square footage means more fuel will be required for heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilating the increased area.

Energy used per square foot of building increased from about 136,000 BTUs per square foot in 1991 to over 187,000 BTUs per square foot in 2001. That energy includes fuel burned in the heating plant and individual buildings, and electricity used in campus buildings.

Many factors contribute to increasing energy use per square foot. Factors include the increased amount of air conditioned space on campus and the increased use of computers and other electronic technology. For instance, there were an estimated 800 computers on the Williams campus in 1990, while in 2006 there were over 4,800.