Update from Principal Majerus
Associated Project(s):
The student club which cared for the Butterfly Garden dissolved, and a student group has not expressed interest in caring for the garden currently.
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Projects Updates for place: University Laboratory High School (Uni High)
Solar Urbana-Champaign
Associated Project(s):From: Marta Monti <marta@midwestrenew.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2022 4:34 PM
To: White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>
Subject: Solar Urbana-Champaign is back!
Solar Urbana Champaign is back for 2022
2022 marks the seventh year for the Solar Urbana Champaign program. Since 2016, this non-profit-led program has educated 1,292 people about their solar opportunities with our Solar Power Hours presentations, and of those folks, 242 properties decided to go solar.
In partnership with our competitively-selected installer, GRNE Solar, and with support from the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the City of Urbana, and our growing partners, we're excited to help central Illinois residents go solar and save on their energy costs!
Find us online:
- Learn all about Solar Urbana Champaign and sign up for your free site assessment by visiting the website at SolarUrbanaChampaign.com
- Be sure to like the Solar Urbana-Champaign and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) Facebook pages and join the online conversation!
- Learn more about our competitively selected solar installer, GRNE Solar, by visiting their website.
First Benchmark Reached!
Our group buy program uses the power of bulk purchasing to create an economy of scale: the more people who participate, the larger the savings become! This year's program has already passed the first 50 kilowatt benchmark, meaning that participants can look forward to additional savings. Join today and share with friends so we can achieve lower costs for everyone!
Please help spread the word:
Please share the program website or this email with your friends and neighbors or post it on your social media pages.
Remember: the more people that go solar through the Solar Urbana Champaign program, the lower the cost for all!
Pull out your yard sign, it's Grow Solar season!
Not sure where it went? No worries, it's been a while. Let us know where to drop it off and we will get you a new one.
- UPCOMING SOLAR POWER HOURS -
Share this schedule with a friend and invite them to start their solar journey with you!
8/11, Thursday: Solar Power Hour, 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Papa Del’s Pizza Factory, 1201 S Neil St, Champaign, IL
8/17, Wednesday: Solar Power Hour, 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Danville Public Library, 319 N Vermilion St, Danville, IL
8/26, Friday: Solar Power Hour, 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Big Thorn Farm & Brewery, 14274 600 North Rd, Georgetown, IL – co-hosted by Big Thorn Farm & Brewery
8/31, Wednesday: Solar Power Hour, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Zoom (click to register)
— BROUGHT TO YOU BY —
Questions?
Throughout the program, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know. I can be reached at marta@midwestrenew.org.
Sincerely,
Marta Monti
MREA Solar Program Manager
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) promotes renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living through education and demonstration. To learn more about our work, visit midwestrenew.org.
Join the Great Backyard Bird Count
Associated Project(s):Try out citizen science in your own backyard! Melody Arnold, President of the Macon Co. chapter of the Audubon Society, will describe the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, happening February 12-15 this year. She will talk about a few of the birds that we are most likely to see in this area and how we can participate. This program is brought to you by East Central Illinois Master Naturalists.
February 1, 12 PM
Amanda Christenson • Cooperative Extension Service
Mailbag solar article: Suggestion for UI solar panels
Associated Project(s):"Why doesn't the company installing the solar panels at U of I put them over the parking lot? I would provide shade for the cars underneath and would eliminate having to kill whatever would be underneath them in the fields."
The best option for building solar panels is ground-mounted, said Morgan White, the associate director for sustainability at the University of Illinois.
"As part of our Climate Leadership Commitments the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a goal of producing at least 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year from on-campus solar," she said. "When we evaluated options for meeting this goal, rooftop solar, solar over parking areas, and ground-mounted solar were all considered. The most cost-effective option is ground-mounted solar, and it also allows for larger-scale installations.
"For a sense of the scale, the two solar farms will be a total of 75 acres, while the largest parking lot on campus is less than 15 acres.
"When installing solar panels over parking areas, there are additional infrastructure and labor costs to raise the solar panels above the ground level. Although we do not currently have any solar over parking areas, Facilities & Services is working with the Parking Department to evaluate potential locations for a pilot installation. We are also continuing to install rooftop solar on individual buildings."
Solar panels are on the following five Urbana campus buildings:
— Business Instructional Facility
— the Activities & Recreation Center
— Wassaja Residence Hall
— University High School Gymnasium
— Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building.
"I'd also like to emphasize that the ground-mounted solar panels do not harm the plants under them. After building the first Solar Farm, we learned that there was an excellent opportunity for growing useful plants under and around the panels," said White. "This is a great opportunity for creating a multi-functional ecosystem, with pollinator supportive plants and protected areas for small animals and insects."
Butterfly garden at Uni High
Associated Project(s):They would like to put in an 8x16 foot garden, south of Uni gym, beginning about 6 feet west of the parking lot and about 6 feet north of the sidewalk along Springfield. The students are working on plant selection and will take care of planting, weeding, watering, and general maintenance.
Provost Office approves funding for LED Exit Signs
Associated Project(s):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.
LED Exit Signs funding request submitted
Associated Project(s):F&S Building Maintenance submitted the attached funding request to the F&S Director of Shared and Administrative Services for the next round of the LED Exit Sign projects.
Attached Files:Sarthak Prasad Final Report: Independent study with Morgan Johnston ENG 573 (fall 2016)
Associated Project(s):Sarthak Prasad completed his independent study with Dr. Rizwan Uddin in fall 2016. Please see attached the final report from this study.
Meeting with F&S officials
Associated Project(s):Met with the university Facilities and Services officials and LED staff on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, to discuss the progress of LED Campus projects so far. The main focus of the meeting was Exit signs in the buildings. Meeting was hosted by Mogan Johnston, and attended by Ken Buenting, Brian Finet, Steven Bainbridge, and Patty Douglas.
Meeting details
Associated Project(s):Marianne Downey met with Morgan Johnston and Brent Lewis on April 20 and showed them the location recommended by David Stone for the butterfly/pollinator planting (between the Uni Gym and Hue House). Brent thought it was a good spot.
They also discussed that the Math House and the Hue House have to be demolished for the butterfly plant project at the Uni High could begin.
Marianne has asked David Stone and Japhia Ramkumar, for their advice as to the size of planting and what plants should be planted.
Attached Files:Campus officials meeting about butterfly planting at Uni High
Associated Project(s):Uni grad and Associate Director of Facilities & Services, Morgan Johnston, and Campus Landscaping Architect, Brent Lewis, will meet the Director of Advancement at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School, Marianne Downey, at 8:30 AM on April 20, 2016, at the school’s Stoughton entrance.
Campus approves an additional $100K for LED Exit Signs
Associated Project(s):After the successful completion of the recent LED Exit Sign upgrades, the F&S Building Maintenance division has received approval for another round of LED Exit Sign upgrades. Ken Buenting, Sharon Ball, Ryan Wild, and Morgan Johnston met to discuss the prioritization process for identifying the next buildings to address. Buildings will be ranked according to student/transient visitor contact hours (if this information can be obtained), results of campus code fire safety reports, and coordination with other projects or funding.
LED Exit Sign projects completed
Associated Project(s):In support of the Chancellor's commitment to making the University of Illinois an LED Campus, 531 LED way-finding signs have been installed in eight campus buildings: Grainger Library, Animal Science, Roger Adams Lab, Engineering Science Building, Turner Hall, Main Library, Education Building, and the Chem. Life Sciences Lab.
updated list of LED exit sign buildings
Associated Project(s):FY07 - 13 buildings
- 112 - MEB
- 26 - Altgeld
- 12 - Noyes
- 99 - Undergrad
- 210 - DCL
- 15 - Engineering Hall
- 152 - Hydrosystems
- 67 - Loomis
- 29 - MEL
- 34 - MSEB
- 24 - Newmark
- 13 - Talbot
- 42 - Transportation Bldg
FY08 - 12 buildings
- HARDING BAND BUILDING #4
- ILLINI HALL #65
- OPTICAL PHYSICS BUILDING #165
- ILLINOIS PROGRAM FOR RESEARCH & HUMANITIES #221
- ARCHITECTURE BUILDING #50
- NOBLE HALL #90
- ART & DESIGN #219
- MUSIC BUILDING #39
- FLAGG HALL #89
- UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL #61
- ARMORY #6
- FOELLINGER AUDITORIUM #7
FY14 – CURRENT PROJECT
- #324 Grainger Library
- #174 Engineering Sciences
- #116 Roger Adams Lab
- #336 Animal Sciences
- #197 Turner Hall
- #370 South Studio #5
- #371 South Studio #7
OTHER PROJECTS
- #339 Temple Buell Hall
update on project progress
Associated Project(s):Ken Buenting, Sharon Ball, Eva Sweeney, Morgan Johnston, and Ryan Wild met to review progress on the LED Exit Sign work. Ken reported great progress with four buildings complete and one in progress: Grainger, RAL, Animal Sciences Lab, and the Engineering Sciences Building. They are in Turner Hall now. Just over $24K has been spent so far through the contractor. They will move on to the Main Library and the Education Building next.
The current implementation process is as follows:
- Ryan Wild and Morgan Johnston work with others to identify the priority list of buildings.
- Eva Sweeney will review records to ascertain whether the fixtures are connected to an emergency generator or will need battery backup.
- Sharon Ball and team will do the initial count of fixtures.
- Ken Buenting will direct the hired contractor to replace the existing fixtures and provide data sheets for our records.
- Eva Sweeney and Ryan Wild will identify additional signage installation needs.
- Ken will direct the F&S electricians to install the additional signs.
Eva had Ken remove Temple Buell Hall from the list because it is being handled through another project. Also, through other funding, South studio five and seven were completed.
Exit Signs to be upgraded to LEDs in 7 buildings
Associated Project(s):Building
Bld #
Cost (labor/material)
Animal Science Lab
165
$10,900
Temple Buell Hall
339
$7,300
Turner Hall
197
$10,500
Grainger Library
324
$8,200
Roger Adams Lab
116
$12,300
Engineering Science Bld
174
$13,400
Cost (Material only)
Abbott Power Plant
120
$36,900
Total
$99,500
Printing and Photographic Services Building
Associated Project(s):As part of the Lighting Retrofit #5, 862 T-12 fixtures in the Printing and Photographic Services Building were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 151,916 hours. The simple payback for this project is 3.15 years.
Campus funding allocated for LED exit signs
Associated Project(s):The LED Campus commitment includes having all the interior wayfinding signs converted to LED by 2025. This is primarily LED Exit Signs. We had hoped to use the Revolving Loan Fund to implement another phase of the LED Exit Sign project. However, that funding is only applicable if there is a reasonable payback through utility savings. LED Exit Signs have a good payback, but not through Utilities. The savings come from reduced maintenance, which also provides a reasonable payback. Given the shortfall in maintenance funding and the Chancellor’s commitment to becoming an LED campus, Mike Andrechak agreed to provide $100,000 per year for two years toward LED Exit Signs. This funding could be continued in future years, subject to funding approval.
Agriculture Bioprocess Lab
Associated Project(s):As part of the Lighting Retrofit #5, 436 T-12 fixtures in the Agriculture Bioprocess Lab were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 68,289 hours. The simple payback for this project is 3.62 years.
Code Complance and Fire Safety Funding Meeting
Associated Project(s):Ryan Wild, in Code Compliance and Fire Safety, met with Morgan Johnston to review the funding parameters for this project, and identify next steps. Morgan asked Teresa Tousignant and Nishant Makhijani, from the Student Sustainability Committee, about potential student volunteers to help locate the existing incandescent exit signs. Ryan will work on the building surveys for the smaller buildings, and we will hold KCPA, Main Library, Beckman, Roger Adams Lab, and Chem Life Sciences Lab for potential student assistance.
