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  1. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics
    Green Lab Program
    Earth Week
    Illini Lights Out
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Final review of Illini Lights Out (ILO) recommendation;

    2) Scott Willenbrock visiting April 14 meeting;

    3) Updates:

    - iCAP Portal.  Work of Morgan and Chenxi Jiang;

    - Earth Hour photo;

    - Eco-Olympics;

    - Green Lab Coordinator

    4) SWATeam next meeting time and date:  April 13th, from 3:30 to 5 pm. 

    Attached Files: 

  2. Water & Stormwater SWAT Meeting Minutes 3/30/2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Water Audit / Inventory
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]

    Updates and discussion of greywater meter, greywater design standards, cooling tower cycles of concentration, water use dashboard, and student outreach. 

    Attached Files: 

  3. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, the shop was closed for Spring Break, so going back two weeks to 3/13 – 3/17: Visitors totaled 60. We grossed $839.20. We sold 4 memberships for $120; one refurbished bike for $180; and one build-a-bike for $134.

    This week I will be prepping for summer staff, building bikes, organizing/cleaning, getting in touch with the new supply representative, and attempting to streamline the reporting of stolen bikes.

    Additionally, the Bike Project is hosting a bike light giveaway at Douglass Park in Champaign on Sunday (April 2nd;  2 - 5pm) that I will promote this week.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  4. Let the games begin!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    Hey all!

    The competition has begun! It will run until 4/17. We are close to having the live results up so you can check how your hall is doing. I'll send out a link when that is complete.

    You are competing for a catered banquet or a $200-500 prize of your choice. Start saving energy, signing people up for Eco-Olympics, and having events.

    For your convenience, I have attached the participation outline that specifies how to win points for that $200-500 prize.

    Reach out with any questions and good luck!

    Best,

    Jessica Mondello

    Eco-Olympics | Director

    Think Globally. Act Locally.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Water Use and Cycles of Concentration (COC) in a cooling tower

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    Below is information provided by Jeremy Overmann, B.S. Ch. E., Water Treatment Specialist, on the water use and cycles of concentration (COC) in a cooling tower, as requested after a Land and Water SWAT meeting. 

    "

    Water SWAT members,

     

    Here is some more information regarding the cooling tower discussion at today’s meeting.

     

    This first graph shows how much water a typical 100 ton Cooling Tower uses per hour, and how this changes when the tower is operated at various Cycles of Concentration (COC)

    NOTE:  a 1 ton cooling tower can remove 15,000 BTU/hr of heat.

     

    2Q==

     

    Most standard chemically treated Cooling Towers use unsoftened water and operate between 4 – 6 COC, depending on the source water quality (also called Make-Up water) and the efficacy of the chemical treatment program.

    As COC increases, the potential for formation of calcium scale (and possibly other types of scale) increases.  Scale deposits reduce the energy efficiency of the chiller and the cooling tower, and result in the need for labor intensive cleaning to remove the scale.

     

     

    The following table shows the relationship between volume of Cooling Tower blowdown (bleed), blowdown rate (% bleed), COC, and total water usage.

    Cycles of Concentration is controlled by choosing the rate of blowdown.  This is done by controlling the blowdown (bleed) valve at the bottom of the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)
     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    2

    5000

    50%

    10,000

    66%

    3

    2500

    25%

    7500

    50%

    4

    1667

    17%

    6667

    44%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    6

    1000

    10%

    6000

    40%

    7

    833

    8%

    5833

    39%

    8

    714

    7%

    5714

    38%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

     

     

    In a “Zero” blowdown cooling tower, softened water is used, and cycles of concentration ranges from 20 – 100 or higher.  To achieve proper water chemistry to provide corrosion protection, usually need to operate at > 20 COC. 

    During the Champaign Regional Office Building study, the highest COC achieved was 51.  The blowdown valve is turned off, however some water is lost from leaks in the tower, and from droplets of water that escape with the air that is drawn through the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)
     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    10

    555

    6%

    5550

    37%

    25

    208

    2%

    5208

    35%

    50

    102

    1%

    5102

    34%

    75

    66

    0.7%

    5066

    34%

    100

    51

    0.5%

    5051

    34%

    200

    25

    0.3%

    5025

    34%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

    "

     

  8. Pricing Breaks for higher quantities

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Urbana-Champaign

    Hi Solar UC Advisory Committee,

    The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) has accepted the Solar Urbana-Champaign Advisory Committee’s recommendation and contracted with New Prairie Construction to install solar arrays for the second round of our group buy program.  MREA and New Prairie Construction have agreed to an amended fee schedule whereby New Prairie will be providing a rebate which will be paid to program participants who sign a contract for services by August 31, 2017 according to the following schedule: $.03/watt if the program reaches 50-150 kW of total capacity; $.06/watt for 150-250 kW; $.09/watt for installed capacity in excess of 250 kW. 

    Please keep an eye on solarurbanachampaign.com as we will be announcing Solar Power Hours very soon.  Please share these event announcements through your networks and let us know of any ideas for additional public engagement.

    Thanks!

    Scott

     

    Scott R. Tess

    Environmental Sustainability Manager

    City of Urbana, IL

    P: 217-384-2381   -   F: 217-819-3167

    706 S. Glover Ave. Urbana, IL 61802

    Walk Score® – 61 out of 100

    Bike Routes – www.urbanaillinois.us/bike-urbana

    Plan Your Bus Trip – http://www.cumtd.com or 384-8188

  9. Rates of participation in Eco-Olympics by residence hall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Eco-Olympics

    Hello Eco-Olympic followers!

    It's not too late to sign up! For those who have their team up and running, I highly encourage you all to meet before spring break begins. Once we get back, the competition is on! If you let me know the time and place, I can bring shirts to hand out.

    Here is the count of participants signed up for each hall:

    Remember that each person signed up gives your one point towards the participation price! Have some tabling events to get people interested!

    Best,

    Jessica Mondello
    Eco-Olympics | Director

    Think Globally. Act Locally.

     

  11. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    All, Happy Monday! Last week was a steady busy one. We routinely had peaks of busyness and fallow valleys. We had 97 visitors through the doors, including staff. We grossed $951.50. We sold two bikes for $335; one build-a-bike for $61; and 4 memberships for $120.

    Overall, last week I was met with a little more enthusiasm for the space than I regularly receive upon explaining the cost structure and mission of the CBC to new visitors. That was nice. Our for-sale bike count after last week sits at 14 for-sale bikes. I keep trying to grow that number up into the 20s but people keep buying them. That’s not a bad thing, I suppose.

    Additionally, the two Departmental Share bikes need parts that are on-order so that project will be delayed, unfortunately.

    Our numbers for B-a-Bs last year was quite low and as such I will begin photographing—with permission—all those who complete build-a-bikes and posting them on social media, which will serve two important functions: advertising for CBC and its most education-intensive program; and having a picture of owner and bicycle in the event of a stolen or lost bike.

    This week I am going to cull a few more unbuiildable bikes from the pile and concentrate heavily on ramping up the for-sale numbers since this week of cold, snowy weather should keep the shoppers at bay. I will additionally focus on drop-bar bicycles, since I’ve noticed people requesting and looking for those more than the about-town cruisers and flat-bar bikes we have for sale, irrespective of how well-suited they are to campus riding.

    Sincerely,

    Jake Benjamin

    Campus Bike Center Manager

  12. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (3.10.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Geothermal on Campus
    Solar Power on Campus
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Clean Power Agreements Off-Campus

    The EGEN SWATeam held another bi-weekly meeting. Topics covered include:

    • Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Ximing Cai and his vision for iSEE
    • Biomass boiler at Energy Farm
    • Opportunities for Geothermal on campus
    Attached Files: 

  13. iWG Meeting Notes from Jan. 27, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Indoor Bike Parking
    Green Lab Program

    The iCAP Working Group met and discussed the following agenda items.  Meeting notes are attached.

    1. Brief iCAP Portal overview by Morgan
    2. Discuss any updates to Water002, Cooling Tower Increase COC
    3. Discuss Trans008, Bike Parking in Ramps
    4. Discuss updates to Econs004, Green Labs Coordinator
    5. Consider issues with recommendation process and view recommendation tracker

    Attached Files: 

  14. Sustainability staff discussed the outreach programs on the portal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Earth Week
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)

    Morgan Johnston, Catherine Yee, and Chenxi Jiang met today to discuss the outreach information listed on the iCAP Portal.  Catherine described the Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC) and the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP).  We also discussed the Earth Week efforts and the overall purpose of the SSLC as a networking opportunity for students in sustainability groups.

  15. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Education

    All, last week we had 114 visitors. We grossed $997.25. We sold two bikes for $210 and six memberships for $180. The new hires are coming along, with only minor hiccups here and there.

    Last week Lily and I assisted with the University High School Agora Days class that a Bike Project member was leading.  For Four days last week we went over various bike repair basics, focusing on tires/tubes, minor brake adjustments, chains, and a how-to on bike fitting. The kids were genuinely interested and engaged, and no one minded getting a little dirty. The only downside was the one-hour limit on each day’s class.

    Lily and I also met to discuss the implementation of some bike classes for which she so adeptly secured funding.

    This week I will get a job posting up for more student workers, as one new hire is MIA and a few others are graduating. I will continue to work on the departmental bike share bikes for F&S as well as bikes for sale here, as our stock isn’t quite as robust as I would like pre-spring rush.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  16. Water & Stormwater SWAT Meeting Minutes 2/23/2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Potable Water Usage
    Energy Dashboard Project
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data

    Updates on BIF Greywater Meter, Increase Cooling Tower COC, and Design Center Greywater Piping recommendations. Discussion on the development of water use dashboard. 

    Attached Files: 

  17. Requesting approval as Master Naturalist volunteer site

    Associated Project(s): 
    Red Oak Rain Garden

    The ECIMN Advisory Board meets on the third Monday of the month from 3-5 pm.  Karen Folk and Eliana Brown will present the Red Oak Rain Garden as a requested site for approval as an official volunteer location for the Master Naturalists.  Once Board approval is granted, Maddy Kangas will work to complete the MOU with F&S, similar to the Idea Garden agreement.

    The effort could be set up in three phases: 1. Assessment 2. Renovation 3. Maintenance.

  19. Arbor Day Celebration planned for April 28, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education

    Five trees will be planted on the South Quad of campus, for the Arbor Day Celebration, on April 28, 2017. The agenda includes a welcome, a reading of the proclamation, an educational speech, the tree planting, and a trivia game.  Attendees will each be invited to add a shovel of soil to the newly planted trees.

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