You are here

Project Updates for collection: all

Search

Search tips:

  • This form will search for words in the title OR the description. If you would like to search for the same term(s) across both the title and description, enter the same search term(s) in both fields.
  • This form will search for any of the words you enter in a field, not the exact phrase you enter. If you would like to search for an exact phrase, put double quotes (") around the phrase. For example, if you search for Bike Path you will get results containing either the word Bike OR the word Path, but if you search for "Bike Path" you will get results containing the exact phrase Bike Path.

  1. 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

  3. Provost Office approves funding for LED Exit Signs

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Exit Signs
    Allocate Existing Resources

    The Office of the Provost approved $75,000 in one-time funding for the next step in the LED Exit Sign retrofit project.  The funding of $75,000 is for LED Exit Sign lighting replacement, additions, and new building surveys.  Material and labor of $70,000 would be used to replace 343 fixtures in 20 buildings at an average rate of $204/fixture.  An additional $5,000 is proposed to survey 50 campus buildings for exit light counts.  That will provide the input necessary for the next phase, once this phase is completed.

  4. 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
    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: 

  5. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out
    Earth Week
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report
    Green Lab Program
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Comments needed on Illini Lights Out (ILO) recommendation;

    2) Illini Lights Out final planning for 10th of March;

    3) Building level energy consumption report;

    4) Participation in Earth Hour and Earth week activities on campus;

    5) Updates on the Green Labs Coordinator;

    6) Planning for a campus walk focused on space utilization.

     

    Attached Files: 

  6. 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
    Formal Sustainability Procedures

    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: 

  7. 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.

  8. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach

    A main component of the 2010 iCAP is to engage the outside community in working to create a more sustainable campus. The University of  Illinois is working to enhance its engagement activities in the arena of sustainability. Champaign County Network (CCNet) is an effort to engage the campus and the surrounding community in a shared discourse on the critical sustainability and climate issues ahead. The University's Office of Corporate Relations is working to enhance collaborations with corporations in sustainability activities.

    The iCAP provides an opportunity to engage the outside community in a dialogue on the University’s role in helping to resolve community climate responses. For example, the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) is designed to provide assistance to public and private interests in reducing and conserving their operational energy use in buildings. This type of information is an important step in developing meaningful solutions to climate change.

  9. March 3, 2017 Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Indoor Bike Parking

    3/3/17

    Summary: This meeting served to update and refocus the team, as well as to further discuss Lily Wilcox’s suggestion for her bike-cage recommendation.

    In attendance:

    Josh Feldman

    Morgan Johnston

    Brian Farber

    Pete Varney

    Lily Wilcox - Active Transportation Coordinator

    Topics Covered:

    New IWG chair – Ximing Cai

    Ben McCall has stepped down as the iCAP working group chair and will be replaced by Ximing Cai, who will start on March 1st. Morgan Johnston will serve as the interim chair until then. Ximing wants to tie iSEE to other campus sustainability programs better, and wants faculty outside of iSEE more involved.

    IWG wants recommendations

    The iCAP working group is asking for feedback as to how well recommendations are working from our perspective. They hope to have a summary for recommendations by May. For instance, you might note that it is hard to have faculty engagement, or that the SWATeam isn’t getting enough feedback. If you have suggestions you would like IWG to hear, email Morgan Johnston.

    Bike Parking Cage proposal

    Last semester, Lily Wilcox introduced a suggestion to have secure cages for bike storage in all new parking structures. Those who would like to use these structures would pay for a permit. The team has not yet decided to agree completely on the proposal as we are still working out how to address some specific concerns.

    The most important concern is cost. These cages are expected to cost approximately $60,000, and will be in use for the 30-50 year lifespan of the parking structure. Morgan noted that these cages would likely be in high demand, so we could charge upwards of $85-$100 per year for a permit, similar to universities like Ohio State and Minnesota.

    Additionally, we discussed who the primary customers would be. Likely, the primary buyers would be day-riders and some students. Morgan suggested that we talk to campus recreation about the idea as well.

    Finally, we discussed some of the implementation challenges of the proposal. Brian mentioned that having bike riders in a parking garage create a safety hazard as cars may not be aware of or expect bike riders. Furthermore, any malfunction of the card-swipe system would be a huge inconvenience for anyone who needs to retrieve their bike.

    Overall, we have not yet formally agreed to go ahead with the recommendation but will continue to discuss it until we work out these issues.

    Next Meeting

    Our next meeting will be Thursday, March 16 at 1pm. This meeting will take place on Thursday so as to not be right before spring break.

  10. Conservation Budget Recommendation (ECONS003) - Transmittal to the Council

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECBS Recommendations Summary
    Sustainability Council
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    Energy Conservation Efforts

    ECONS003 Conservation Budget Recommendation was transmitted to the Office of the Provost on March 6, 2017. The Council discussed the recommendation at this meeting.

    See iWG Assessment of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

    See SWATeam Recommendation of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

  12. EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards recommendation - Transmittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    eGen Recommendations Summary

    Following the completion of iWG assessment, the SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards was transmitted to the Sustainability Council on March 6, 2017.

    See iWG Assessment for SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standard here.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

  13. EGen006 Petascale Offsets recommendation - Assessment with all comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    eGen Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on February 23rd, 2017, to discuss and start the assessment on the SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Petascale Offsets. The iWG's official recommendation was:

    "This has been an open issue since the 2010 iCAP and the 2015 iCAP.  This should be addressed with the current discussions about supercomputing on campus."

    See attached the iWG assessment complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Petascale Offsets here.

    Attached Files: 

  14. EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards recommendation - Assessment with all comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    eGen Recommendations Summary

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on February 23, 2017, to discuss the SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards. The official recommendation from the iWG was:

    "Rooftop solar should be included in the Facility Standards, with guidance developed by F&S staff, in order to maximize the effectiveness of solar installations.  This should apply to new construction, major renovations, and roof improvement projects.  Project scopes should include rooftop solar, as applicable, based on the guidance to be developed according to roof orientation, nearby shading, potential solar capacity, and roof construction type (e.g., gypsum would be an inappropriate roof decking for retrofitting with solar PVs). Exceptions should require a variance during the capital design review process."

    See attached the assessment form complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Work Order created for engineering work

    Associated Project(s): 
    Speech and Hearing Rooftop Solar PVs

    Work Request 253325 converted to Work Order 10519389

     

    Work Order: 10519389

    Building: 0209 - SPEECH AND HEARING SCIENCE

    Room:

    Department Reference:

     

    Customer Description:

    WO for engineering services for solar funding for Speech and hearing sciences

     

    Phases:

    Phase: 001 DESIGN SERVICES

  16. 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

  17. Campus Tree Inventory Recommendation - assessment with comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Tree Inventory
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Utilize Carbon Credits
    ALUFS Recommendations Summary

    The iCAP WOrking Group (iWG) met on February 23rd, 2017, to discuss and start the assessment of SWATeam recommendation ALUFS002 Campus Tree Inventory. Their official comment on this recommendation was:

    "The iCAP Working Group supports the use of the Carbon Credit funds for a tree inventory update."

    See attached the iWG assessment complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam ALUFS002 Recommendation.

    Attached Files: 

  18. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out
    Green Lab Program
    Energy Conservation Efforts
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Earth Week

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Discuss and comment on attached recommendation for institutionalizing Illini Lights Out;

    2) Illini Lights Out final planning for 24th of February;

    3) Participation in Earth Hour activities on campus;

    4) Discussion on what else to accomplish this year.

    Attached Files: 

  19. 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
    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: 

  20. GRITS update

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA Green Power Partner

    Greetings from all of us at SEI! We're excited to share that our GRITS Library has surpassed 2,000 projects! We're also happy to announce our new web site, GoGRITS.org, and highlight the new features of GRITS 1.7. We hope many of you can join us for a March 15 GRITS 1.7 Walkthrough webinar.

    THE GRITS LIBRARY HITS 2,000 PROJECTS
    This week, the GRITS Library surpassed 2,000 projects! The Library is full of completed projects that allow users to learn from one another and get inspired to do more. Collectively, these projects have achieved impressive results:

    425fb402-cf72-4ca3-a82d-1b90a2aed5a8.png

    NEW GOGRITS.ORG WEB SITE!  
    We’re excited to announce the launch of GoGRITS.org, a website devoted to SEI’s powerful, time-saving platform for planning, tracking, and sharing data from all of your energy, financial, and carbon-saving projects. The new website profiles the benefits and features of GRITS and provides easy access to free trials, GRITS videos, guides, and more. We hope you'll take a minute to visit GoGRITS.org.
     

Pages