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Projects Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

  1. Sustainability Analysis of the Campus Bike Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    The Campus Bike Center opened for business in May 2010, funded by The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign, a grant from the Student Sustainability Committee, the Center for a Sustainable Environment, and supplementary funding from the Facilities and Services Department at UIUC[1]. The Center offers a hands-on, educational space in which students and community members can have access to knowledge and experience in maintaining and fixing bicycles, as well as all of the necessary tools and products to do so. The Center’s outlined mission is to teach bicycle maintenance, providing access to affordable equipment, support overall safety education, and participate in campus bicycle community outreach2. The Center also has described goals for sustainability; to contribute towards the ICAP goal to reduce transportation emissions by 50% in 2025, support those who use bicycles for transportation, to make bikes a more feasible alternative to motor vehicles on this campus, and to expand these efforts even more through increased outreach and publicity efforts, increased staff capacity, more events outside of the shop to reach new audiences, more refurbished bikes to sell to students, and more courses, workshops, and demonstrations to educate the campus about bikes2.



    [1] Neptune, Amelia. Bike Shop Student Sustainability Committee Application. UIUC ICAP Portal. http://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-updates/102. 11 Nov 2012. Accessed 8 May 2014.

     

     

    Attached Files: 

  2. GreenLink Project Assessment

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Roof on Art & Design Link Gallery
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    The University of Illinois is an educational institution that strives for excellence in sustainability. Under this new goal, many projects have been funded such as the green roof over the Link Gallery. The Link Gallery is a space used to exhibit student work and is wedged between the Art and Design Building and the Krannert Art Museum. The project, titled GreenLink, was proposed by Nan Goggins, the Director of the School of Art and Design, and David Akins, the Director of Art and Design Facilities in 2008[1]. The goal of this project was to make visible the concerns and interests of Fine and Applied Arts students and faculty in working collaboratively on “greening the art campus”. They also had the goals of lowering the heating and cooling costs for the Link space, as well as collecting and storing rainwater to water the gardens on either side of the Link Gallery.



    [1] The original GreenLink Proposal can be found via the iCAP portal.

     

    Attached Files: 

  3. KCPA LED Lobby Lighting

    Associated Project(s): 
    KCPA Lobby Lighting
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    In the words of Valerie Oliveiro, Assistant to the Senior Associate Director of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, KCPA is “dedicated to the advancement of the education, research, and public engagement mission of the University of Illinois through the pursuit of excellence and innovation in the performing arts.”[1] These words exemplify the importance of KCPA to the campus community. A hub of social interaction and innovation, Krannert has a unique role as a leader and innovator in sustainability initiatives at the University of Illinois. This unique importance is what drove KCPA to the idea of implementing LED lighting in its lobby. After more than two years of research and experimentation, consideration to the developing goals of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) and joint funding from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, KCPA finally decided to pull the trigger on The University’s largest LED lighting project.



    [1] Oliveiro, Valerie. ICECF Funding Proposal for the KCPA LED Lobby Lighting Retrofit Project. Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois, September 17th, 2009

     

    Attached Files: 

  4. Examining the Solar Thermal Panels at the Activities and Recreation Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Thermal at ARC
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    For the Spring 2014 semester, I am enrolled in NRES 285 – a field course entitled Performance Metrics and Assessment Techniques for Sustainability Projects. This course utilizes experiential learning in order to gain hands-on experience with sustainability projects on the UIUC campus. In order to assess these initiatives it is necessary to evaluate effectiveness of the project, means of improvement, methods of communicating results, and suggestions for the future. In particular, a project I found particularly appealing is the solar thermal system at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) used to heat the indoor and outdoor pools.

    Attached Files: 

  5. Sustainable Student Farm Vermicomposting Project (I-Compost) Evaluation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Vermicompost
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    The Vermicomposting project (also known as I-Compost) in Sustainable Student Farm (SSF) began as part of the Transplant and Vermi-Composting Multiuse Greenhouse project. It is a pilot project to close the loop between the student farm and the university dining hall. The Transplant and Vermi-Composting Multiuse Greenhouse project received $65,222 grant from Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) on April 24, 2013. It also received $8,565 grant from the Office of Public Engagement on November 28, 2012 and $1,000 grant from Ernst & Young on March 21, 2012. The constructions of greenhouse and vermicomposting unit are completed on Fall 2013.

    Attached Files: 

  6. Sustainability of the Prairie Garden at The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine

    Associated Project(s): 
    Vet Med Prairies
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    In 1820, Illinois contained 22 million acres of prairie, but due to modern intensive agricultural practices, only a few thousand remain today. Of high quality, remnant prairie, there are only 2,300 acres which mostly persist along railroads, in cemeteries, and in ground that is not fit for farming (DNR, 2014). Prairies are part of the history and culture of Illinois. The rich soils that grow so much food for people all over the country were formed under prairie landscapes. These grassland habitats have a lot of potential to continue providing ecosystem services for the citizens of Illinois, but first we have to recognize those ecosystem services and realize the value of the sustainability of prairie landscapes. Faculty at the University of Illinois Veterinary School and at the Illinois Natural History Survey have aimed to do just that through a prairie restoration project on the Veterinary Medicine campus.

    Attached Files: 

  8. Revised scope to fit budget

    Associated Project(s): 
    TBH Lighting Project

    From: Sweeney, Eva Maria
    Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 3:41 PM
    To: Chasco, David; Hall, Gaines B; Johnston, Morgan B; Tousignant, Teresa Marie Giardina
    Cc: Rubin, Joshua
    Subject: RE: Temple Buell - lighting controls upgrade

    Dir. Chasco,

    Thanks for your reply.  I’ll notify the project coordinator to proceed without the dimming controls.

    Regards,

    -Eva

     

    From: Chasco, David
    Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 2:05 PM
    To: Hall, Gaines B; Sweeney, Eva Maria; Johnston, Morgan B; Tousignant, Teresa Marie Giardina
    Cc: Rubin, Joshua
    Subject: RE: Temple Buell - lighting controls upgrade

     

    See below.

     

    From: Hall, Gaines B
    Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 12:27 PM
    To: Sweeney, Eva Maria; Johnston, Morgan B; Tousignant, Teresa Marie Giardina; Chasco, David
    Cc: Rubin, Joshua
    Subject: RE: Temple Buell - lighting controls upgrade

     

    I will defer to Director Chasco for this answer.

     

    Gaines

     

    From: Sweeney, Eva Maria
    Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 11:24 AM
    To: Johnston, Morgan B; Tousignant, Teresa Marie Giardina; Hall, Gaines B; Chasco, David
    Cc: Rubin, Joshua
    Subject: FW: Temple Buell - lighting controls upgrade

     

    All,

     

    Please see below.  Per our discussions at the 95% review, I added in continuous dimming

    to the 2nd and 3rd floor studios daylighting controls.  I had hoped we could afford this within the

    project budget, but the bid has come in too high.

     

    Would it be acceptable to the department to remove the dimming function, and have the

    daylighting operate in on/off mode only?  This will save a huge amount and put us back on budget. Yes, that is ok if it helps the budget.

     

    Please let me know your thoughts ASAP so I can have the contractor revise their bid.

    David

    Thanks,

    -Eva

     

    From: Rubin, Joshua
    Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2014 4:44 PM
    To: Sweeney, Eva Maria
    Subject: Temple Buell

     

    Eva

     

    As discussed, the fixed cost JOC scope of work for the TBH Lighting upgrades is ~$119,580.  This does not include any F&S system integrity support (this would be time and material support for things like smoke outage support, electrical outage support, ballast disposal) which would be minor on this project.

     

    The emergency exit light replacement cost is approx. $9,500.00

     

    Removal of the dimming requirement for the studio/lab areas would save somewhere in the range of $33,300 - $50,000

     

    Please let me know if you and the customer (Gaines Hall?) would like a more exact proposal for any of the options above and how you would like to proceed with this project.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Josh Rubin

    JOC Project Specialist

    Facilities & Services

    University of Illinois

    1501 S Oak St.

    Champaign, IL 61820

    Office:   (217) 300-2469

    Cell:        (217) 377-5493

  9. Bike Funding Needs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    In 2011, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was recognized as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) by the League of American Bicyclists. This was in large part a result of efforts by Facilities & Services in cooperation with community partners, including the Bicycle Friendly Cities of Urbana and Champaign and Champaign County Bikes, which is dedicated to making Champaign County the most bicycle friendly county in the Midwest.  The Student Sustainability Committee, Illinois Student Senate, and Dean of Students have added funding.

    The BFU Bronze status expires in 2015, and campus needs to address several bicycle-related items in order to maintain Bronze status or achieve the Silver designation.  Key points, status, timing, and approximate long-term funding needs are below.

    Task

    Status

    Timing

     Long-term Funding Needs

    Approve Campus Bike Plan

    final edits underway, then routing for approval from F&S and Campus

    30-Jun-14

    use existing staff time

    Improve bikeway network

    integrating some of these with street and capital projects, seeking grants

    five to ten years

    approximately $4 Million

    Upgrade bike parking

    over 150 parking locations are not up to acceptable standards

    three to five years

    approximately $400K

    Adopt Campus Bike Code and  bike registration system

    final edits underway, then routing for approval; costs include tracking citations, and handling registration

    approve by June 30, 2014

    $5-$20k/year recurring

    Campus Bicycle Coordinator over programs such as bike sharing and ambassadors

    no funding available, currently managed part-time by a team of F&S

    needed

    $45k/year recurring

    Bicycle Education maps, materials and classes

    currently offered by the Campus Bike Center and Champaign County Bikes

    ongoing

    $5-$10k/year recurring

    Campus Bike Center advocacy, education, and encouragement

    recurring events, in collaboration with Champaign County Bikes and student advocacy groups

    needed

    $50k/year recurring

    With increasing ridership over the last decade and an average of 5,000 bikes on campus during a typical hour, it is clear that bicycle-related needs should not be ignored.  Bikeway improvements, parking upgrades, and a new bike code are in progress now; however, to keep the Bicycle Friendly status, campus should allocate $50,000 in FY15 for the Campus Bike Center (a collaboration between campus and The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign).

    The Bike Center distributes UI registration stickers; maintains Bike Fix-it Stations; provides a central base for the bicycling community on campus; encourages mode-shift through various events and classes throughout the year; distributes educational resources regarding bicycling; educates students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors about basic bicycle maintenance; and collaborates with campus and community partners in bicycle-related programs.  By keeping the Bike Center open, campus can spread awareness about the many improvements, increase safety, sustainability, and health on campus, and continue to offer education and encouragement events this coming year.

    Attached Files: 

  10. SSC suggestion about growing the RLF

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)

    Dear Mike,

    The Student Sustainability Committee recently decided to fund a project entitled "Energy Shade Curtains - Phase III" for the Plant Care Facility in the amount of $71,000.  The project aims to install and program new shade curtains to decrease unnecessary overuse of energy to heat, cool, and power greenhouse rooms.  An earlier phase of this project included detailed metering, which demonstrated a 50% reduction in heat inputs and a 32% reduction in electricity consumption.

    The SSC, and iSEE, would like to ask whether the energy savings resulting from this project can be "paid back" into the Revolving Loan Fund in order to help facilitate future energy-saving projects.  Obviously we would have to quantify exactly what the savings are, before moving forward.

    Sincerely,

    Marika Nell (Outgoing Chair, SSC)
    Amy Liu (Incoming Chair, SSC)
    Ben McCall (Associate Director for Campus Sustainability, iSEE)
     

  11. Work order for MSEB occ sensor work

    Associated Project(s): 
    Occupancy and Daylight Sensors

    Work Request 141288 converted to Work Order 10288695

    Work Order: 10288695

    Building: 0034 - MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENG BLDG

    Room:

    Department Reference:

    Customer Description:

    Please provide engineering design services to install lighting occupancy sensors and HVAC occupancy sensors in the Materials Science and Engineering Building (MSEB).  Charge CFOP 1-762417-862004-xxxxxx-198000.

    Phases:

    Phase: 001 DESIGN SERVICES

  12. Q&A with Tim Mies and Mike Marquissee

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm

    From: Marquissee, Mike
    Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 11:22 AM
    To: Mies, Timothy A; Anderson, Gary L; Dale Johnston (dkjohnst@igb.illinois.edu)
    Subject: RE: Copy of UofI propane 040414-MLM EDITS.xls

    Tim,

    See answers below.

    Mike

    From: Mies, Timothy A
    Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 9:01 AM
    To: Marquissee, Mike; Anderson, Gary L; Dale Johnston (dkjohnst@igb.illinois.edu)
    Subject: RE: Copy of UofI propane 040414-MLM EDITS.xls

    Hi Mike,

    Several questions have come up that I would like you input on in regards to the green revolving loan fund in cases that might occur that do not follow the typical project pattern.

    Scenario 1) The energy farm reverts to another department at the completion of the grant of the Energy Biosciences Institute before the loan is repaid.  How would the loan be handled in cases where the new department weren’t within the VCR cost area? 

    • Since the loan is being repaid from the campus pool in favor of the VCR, it is likely that it would still pay out in favor of which other campus department it goes to.  Unless it turns into a self-supporting entity, which is unlikely.  In that unlikely event, the self-supporting entity would repay the loan.

    Scenario 2) A crop loss occurs one year that would limit/prevent the savings that are estimated from our initial estimates? 

    • The Campus utility pool would still pay out.  Just that the savings would not be recognized.  It would also pay for the additional propane.  The loss would not come out of the project.

    Scenario 3) Miscanthus ceases to be produced on the energy farm, resulting in no more mxg produced locally?  Would F&S then consider purchasing MXG from a local farmer who could supply the material? Assuming the boiler installed could handle multiple feedstocks, wood chips may be an alternative. 

    • We support this project because there is a research project attached to it.  If that project is discontinued, we would then have to discuss who repays the loan.  Most likely it would be out of the research fund, then, which would also pay for the restoration of the site and so on.  I don’t think we would be interested in providing alternative fuel sources or manage an abandoned research project.

    Thanks for your input.

    Tim

  13. Registration events at Residence Halls

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Registration

    Schedule

    Monday, April 28, 11AM-2PM

    Student Dining and Residential Programs (SDRP) Building

    Tuesday, April 29, 11AM-2PM

    Illinois Street Residence Halls (ISR)

    Wednesday, April 30, 11AM-2PM

    Allen Hall/Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall (LAR)

    Thursday, May 1, 11AM-2PM

    Pennsylvania/Florida Avenue Residence Hall(s) (PAR/FAR)

     

  14. construction schedule

    Associated Project(s): 
    TBH Lighting Project

    Prof. Hall, Teresa and Morgan,

    Just a quick update – we held the initial site meeting with contractors yesterday. Prof. Chasco was in attendance as we toured the building and discussed construction plans.

    At this time work is projected to begin about May 19th.  Any questions on construction or schedule are best directed to Josh Rubin who will be overseeing the work.

    Of course you can always contact me with technical questions or anything else on your mind.

    Regards,

    -Eva

  15. "Connectivity and Accessibility of UIUC Campus Bike Paths"

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    "The results here indicate that the changes to the UIUC network do in fact improve connectivity over the existing network. Moreover, the planned network lowers the average shortest-distance path between libraries, dormitories, and the Union by nearly the same amount as a control scenario without paths at all. While we may assume that a bicycle master plan will address and improve connectivity as a matter of course – and the language in the plans claims that they do – it seems counterintuitive that this simple test not be included in the research process to confirm that this is so. Ultimately what these accessibility and connectivity analyses show is that while planners and bicycle advocates may seek to improve bicycle infrastructure, we need a way to quantify and subsequently verify that any changes will improve the functionality of the network and the ease with which a rider can travel from one location to another." -- Pildes, Russell. (2014) "Connectivity and Accessibility of UIUC Campus Bike Paths", B.A. Honors Thesis, Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    Attached Files: 

  16. ARC approval

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycling for the Quad

    From: Lev, James R
    Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 3:52 PM
    To: Bartels, Bart A
    Cc: Johnston, Morgan B; Architecture Review Committee
    Subject: RE: Reycling in the Quad

    Bart,

    ARC approves of the new recycling program using the two containers at 30 Quad locations. We understand that this is an experimental program to encourage recycling.   Please keep us informed as to the success of the program. 

    Jim

  17. ARC approval

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sheltered Bike Parking at CLSL

    From: Lev, James R
    Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 4:37 PM
    To: Geoffrey Chambers
    Cc: Eller, Jonathan Randall; Johnston, Morgan B; Architecture Review Committee
    Subject: RE: Approval for SSC Proposal: Shelter Bicycle Parking for CLSL and RAL

    Geoff:

    Thank you for your summary and request for review comments on your proposed project. 

    ARC finds no significant issues with the proposed locations of a cover bike shelter adjacent to the Chem Life Sciences Building.  

    ARC would want to consider shelter designs on a location by location basis.  The shelters may not be acceptable everywhere on campus.   Each site would need to be considered on its own merits and appropriateness of design.  We would like to see a proposal for these two suggested locations: size, location, number of racks, costs and the design.   We’d like to see what you have in mind. 

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    Jim

  18. Results are In!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Gameday Challenge Spring 2014
    RecycleMania

    I just want to let you know that the RecycleMania Game Day results have been released.  Here is the overview:

    • Over 100 volunteers participated.
    • As far as the RecycleMania Results go:
      • Diversion Rate was 31.5% ranking 19th overall.
      • Per Capita Recycling was .041 pounds per person ranking 24th overall.
      • Waste Generation was .13 pounds person ranking 6th overall.
    • Weights were:
      • 1180 pounds of landfill
      • 542 pound of recycling

    For all the details go to: http://recyclemaniacs.org/gamedayresults

    Thanks so much for your help and willingness to collaborate on this. 

    Cheers,

    Bart

  19. Marc Caluwe from Caluwe Biomass Heating Solutions in MA, US

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm

    From: Mies, Timothy A
    Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2014 4:54 PM
    To: Halverson, Robert; Ben McCall <campus-sustainability@illinois.edu> (campus-sustainability@illinois.edu) (campus-sustainability@illinois.edu); Johnston, Morgan B; Rajagopalan, Nandakishore
    Subject: Quick summary and highlights from Marc's visit

    Just a quick summary of the discussions that occurred with Marc Caluwe from Caluwe Biomass  Heating Solutions in MA, US.

    Heizomat is the manufacturer that Marc is a representative for in the US.  I have several brochures that I can pass along that have details on the product line including the RHK-AK model that Marc recommended.  Key points of interest for this group in selecting / approving a boiler:

    • This unit utilizes a drag chain conveyor across the burn bed to handle / stir the material as it burns until dropping into an automatic ash clean out.
    • We discussed what emissions controls would be needed, and Marc indicated that would be a decision campus would have to address.  Marc will be forwarding a brochure that compares emissions values from several manufacturers in the UK.  Options in order of cost would be a cyclone and then an electrostatic reciprocator.
    • UL certification on this model is pending in approx. May of this year.  Due to the cost of ASME certification, they do not plan on testing to that standard.  Instead, in the US they run the boilers at atmospheric pressure with a vent on top.  In this configuration, a plate heat exchanger would be used between the boiler and a thermal storage tank (they recommend old propane tanks as acceptable).  The boilers when used in EU are rated and run at 2 bar (30psi).  Marc cited National Board Synopsis NB370 (http://www.nationalboard.org/index.aspx?pageID=409) that farms would be exempt from this requirement to run at atm.,  but universities / state / industry would not be.  It would be nice to get confirmation of this from engineering.
    • The boiler recommended has an infinite turndown ration (VFD on blowers) to 10% and then shuts down.  A hot air ignition system in used for lighting / relighting.
    • When running on MXG, in order to minimize clinker caused by low melting point of ash, a lower operating temperature is required, also requiring an 30% approx. upsize  in the model to get the rated output.  If we want 200Kw, we need to consider stepping up to a 250Kw model.
    • Material handling / storage / feeding was discussed at length, and Marc was going back to Heizomat to get their recommendations for the best system.  Heizomat does not offer a bale processor at this time, but has a bulk bin feed system to collect chopped material to be burned.

    Marc indicated that he would provide estimates (hopefully  by Friday noon) on a boiler system including a storage feed system, and also the same system installed in a cargo container, prewired, plumbed, etc.

    In addition to the discussions with Mark, Luis Rund presented a very nice plan / rendering of a cargo container size boiler housing that had glass fronts on one half for viewers, and the other half a biomass storage container.  Probably out of our price range at this point, but would make a nice travel display for shows, demos, etc.

    I also had a call later in the day from a representative of Biomass Energy Solutions in MO who is a sales rep for Uniconfort  (Italy) and we had very similar discussions on running at atmospheric pressures.  More literature is coming, and Jared Findley with BES forwarded some links I had looked at initially for the bale processors used for animal feedlots. 

    Let me know if you have any further questions or need clarification on above.

    Tim

     

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