The Student Sustainability Committee has organized and funded a pilot project in which students conduct energy assessments of campus buildings for the purposes of weatherization. Teams from student organizations conduct the assessments, and receive payment for their work. This semester, five organizations are participating. F&S has contributed support and funds to the actual weatherization of the building. Small campus buildings, including the cultural houses, selected on the basis of energy usage, are assessed.

This program will offer an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience with weatherization technologies for energy savings and technology. The program will involve assessments of campus buildings, which will be performed and reported by teams of trained University of Illinois students. Facilities & Services will receive these weatherization reports and use them internally for project assessment and discussion with relevant teams.  Students will be trained to complete audits in order to obtain baseline data and make recommendations for weatherization improvements to Facilities & Services. Audit data will be entered into Excel spreadsheets, for example, to allow for of quantitative and qualitative analysis of results.  Audit areas will include building envelope, lighting, water, and waste. Follow up audits will be conducted to evaluate the program’s success.  Information from these audits will create a valuable body of information to guide future sustainability initiatives.