The College of ACES Seeks funding for the installation of energy/shade curtains in the Plant Sciences Laboratory (PSL) Greenhouse. The goals of this project are to decrease the energy usage to heat and cool the greenhouse rooms, increase natural light quality in the greenhouse rooms, and decrease energy usage by the application and removal of whitewash. Additional project benefits are that the retrofitted greenhouse rooms will be of higher value for research and teaching purposes, by allowing increased use of higher-quality natural lighting, and enabling better lighting control.

Project costs includes the installation of energy shade curtains at the cost of ~$12,000 per room (for nine rooms), in addition to electrical work and new control systems and software. Total costs for the project are anticipated at $120,000, will be financed through this loan. In addition, the Committee will provide a grant of $5,000 for an associated sub-metering project to quantify project benefits.