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Projects Updates for theme: all

  1. Biomass Boiler Open House

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

    REMINDER: The Energy Farm at Illinois and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) invite you to attend:

    Illinois Energy Farm Open House 
    & Biomass Boiler Ribbon Cutting

    1-3 p.m.

    Wednesday, June 21, 2017

    Illinois Energy Farm 
    (4110 S. Race St., Urbana)

     

    DSC_0224.jpeg
    In celebration of the completed installation of the Farm's state-of-the-art Heizomat biomass boiler, we invite you to tour the newly-built boiler facilities and meet Heizomat representatives.

    Refreshments will be served. Please let us know you are coming so we can plan accordingly!

    Click here to RSVP today!!

  2. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was uneventful—in a good way. People came, worked on their bikes and/or purchased one, and then left. We had 123 visitors. We netted $1,226.60. We sold: 5 bikes for $640; 1 Build-a-Bike for $84; 6 memberships for $180; 16 tires/tubes/wheels for $111.

    Last week we had what felt like a surplus of volunteers—and inexperienced ones at that. I think at one point there were 8 people in the shop, all staff/volunteers. I will have to do a better job of creating manageable tasks for unskilled labor.

    One longtime member of the Bike Project came by last week to bid farewell, as he got a job in Washington state. He was very thankful for what we do at CBC/TBP and expressed concern over finding a place in Washington as nice and helpful as we are. In parting, he donated some nice studded winter tires since, as he said, it doesn’t snow in the pacific northwest.

    This week I will tackle establishing a manageable system for organizing the pile of bikes in the back. I think sorting by “Starting Price” would be useful, since that is always the first question asked. It would speed up the process and save me some of the anxiety of people pawing around in a potentially dangerous pile of bikes. This week, I will also create more zero-bike-knowledge tasks that volunteers can accomplish without me having to explain the esoterica of bike “standards”. And, of course, bikes will be built.

    Sincerely,

    Jake Benjamin

    Campus Bike Center Manage

  3. Weekly update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello all,

    Here are my updates from last week:

    • Answered inquiries from Fisher Scientific on progress on glove recycling; Morgan and I will touch base this coming week to get things moving on that effort again
    • Met with Morgan and Olivia Harris to discuss messaging to promote source separation
    • Contacted Dawn Aubrey to set up a meeting to discuss Housing’s role in recycling, particularly with regard to glass and gloves

    Sincerely,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

     

  4. Meeting with F&S Contacts

    Associated Project(s): 
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report

    This week, Ms. Morgan Johnston, Ms. Anna Barnes, and I met with F&S contacts Mr. David Boehm (from building maintenance team), Mr. Robert Halverson (from engineering design team), and Mr. Karl Helmink (from retrocommissioning team). We presented the current template we had for the energy report card and discussed questions regarding energy systems in selected buildings.

     

    After explaining how we constructed the report cards, Mr.Boehm, Mr. Halverson, and Mr. Helmink offered advice on modifications. They noticed some word choices that could result in misinterpretations. The templates were then updated by Ms. Barnes.

     

    Meanwhile, after compiling all the energy usage from 2008 to 2016 for each of the 10 buildings, we developed a list of questions regarding how energy is utilized in each building. Even though Mr.Boehm, Mr. Halverson, and Mr. Helmink were not familiar with every system in all 10 buildings, they directed us to those with the knowledge.

     

    The next step is to communicate with contacts from Mr.Boehm, Mr. Halverson, and Mr. Helmink and get answers for the list of questions we have for each of the 10 buildings.

     

  8. Data Acquisition for Lincoln Hall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report

    Last week, I gathered data for energy consumption in Lincoln Hall from the Energy Billing System (EBS). The total consumption was broken into three components -- electricity, chilled water, and steam. Excel spreadsheets and two graphs were created. One shows the annual consumption from 2008 until fiscal year 2016 (FY16) whereas the other shows monthly consumption of FY16.

     

    During the meeting with Ms. Morgan Johnston and Ms. Anna Barnes, we went through the spreadsheets and graphs. Units were modified to be BTU/SF, which is the Energy Use Intensity (EUI). We also discussed that instead of showing the monthly consumption during FY16, that of the most recent fiscal year, FY17, will be used. Data will be available in July. Furthermore, consumption for potable water will also be added in each building’s analysis.

     

    The next step is to develop the spreadsheets and graphs that show the annual consumption from FY08 until FY17 for the rest of the ten buildings. They will have the same unit and format as the files modified for Lincoln Hall.

     

  9. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was the first steadily and surely busy week we’ve had this summer. Within the first hour or so we were at capacity stand-wise all five days last week. We had 119 visitors and there were probably a dozen or so more people that we missed.

    Our sales for the week: Grossed $799.50; sold 10 memberships for $300; one refurbished bike for $50; 21 tires/tubes (new and used) for $113. While those numbers belie the visitors count, we did have a good amount of used cables/parts sales, indicating a healthy usage of the space that simply doesn’t translate into high dollar amounts. It probably didn’t help that most of our medium-sized stock of refurbished bikes has already sold out, leaving our small and large bikes only. That will be a focus for the coming week as far as shop builds are concerned.

    Last Friday we had the Full Moon Bicycle Ride, a community social ride that I heavily advertised and promoted—so much so that a few people thought the Bike Project/University was sponsoring it. Rough conservative estimates tallied 160 or so people, so it was probably closer to 200. It was an affirming experience to see so many people coming out for such an event and really speaks to the strong presence of cycling in Champaign-Urbana. I lost count of how many people I recognized as visitors to the Campus Bike Center. Impressive, too, was how many folks were not decked out in full-on cycling gear but instead riding commuter-level bikes in the same clothes in which you’d walk your dog. That speaks strongly to the normalization of riding a bicycle and a good sign for the growth of the mode share.

    The temperature is projected to be in the 90s all week and so I will bring out the big water cooler, fill it with ice and be diligent in telling all visitors to stay hydrated while here. I will build more medium-sized bikes this week as well as continue to free up space by scrapping more old and abused-beyond-repair bikes and parts.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  10. Understanding spring flowers on campus

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    Superintendent of Grounds, Ryan Welch, describes the difference in heat tolerance between spring and summer flowers on campus:

    "We plant the early flowers (pansies) because they provide early spring color and are one of the only annuals that prefer cooler temps and will withstand frost.  The early or cool season annuals do not like heat, so they are removed and replaced with the summer annuals.  The summer annuals will not tolerate even a light frost and should not be planted before May 1."

  11. Weekly update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello all,

    Here are my updates from last week:

    • An email to Morgan to pick up on issues related to glass recycling, recycling for graduate student/family housing, and presentations to promote source separation
    • Attendance at a Campus and University Recycling Coalition webinar on recycling collection logistics on campuses

    Sincerely,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

     

  12. Parkland College training program being considered

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure

    While Thor Peterson was working at Parkland College as a part-time grant-funded sustainability coordinator, he shared that "Parkland is in the scoping stage of developing a green infrastrucuture and sustainable landscape operations and maintenance certificate."  He further noted, "There are a lot of questions percolating regarding a Green Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance—whether it would start as a certificate, or as a series of business training opportunities, or what." 

    When Thor was leaving town at the end of his appointment, he indicated that Heidi Leuszler, a Natural Sciences professor at Parkland, will be a good contact for this effort, moving forward.  Thor and Professor Leuszler led a day-long workshop for Regional Planning Commission staff on green infrastructure. He said, "My hope is that the training will serve as a pilot for a more in-depth business training course that could be offered to public and private sector grounds staff charged with maintaining green infrastructure elements."

    Eliana Brown, with Illinois Indiana Sea Grant, University of Illinois Extension, and Illinois Water Resources Center, is also interested in helping this program get developed.  She has brought additional stakeholders into the discussions with Parkland, including Carol Hays, Exec Director of Prairie Rivers Network, and Lisa Merrifield, U of I Extension Strategic Operation Analyst.

  14. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    Last week was reasonably busy. We had 112 visitors. We totaled $638.10 in sales. We sold six memberships for $180; one refurbished bike for $80; one Build-a-Bike for $48; and $101 in both new and used tires/tubes.

    New student hire Dennis started working last week. As a longtime member, he is familiar enough with everything that he’s been able to help right out the gate, which has been great. Additionally, Friday was Logan’s last day.

    This week I will work on student worker scheduling for the summer, strip more old junk bikes that are taking up valuable space, stock all the new parts that arrived last week, attend the Bike Project meeting, and of course, build more bikes.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  15. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All,

    Last week was steady and manageable. We had one or two days of almost no one coming in and days of the summer average of 20 or so people through the human door. Our visitor total for the week was 92.

    We grossed $1,243.81. We sold seven memberships for $210; two refurbished bikes for $385; one build-a-bike for $89; 16 tires and tubes for $73.

    The Bike Project has decided to add a weekday open hours shift on Wednesday evenings for their Urbana location, which was mentioned at the Monthly Members’ Meeting on Wednesday. This will in turn allow those who utilize the CBC an additional resource for working on bikes. On Friday I met Parking out at the warehouse and picked up 16 or so bikes--of which half were worth the effort to rehab or store for B-a-Bs. The rest were promptly taken to the scrap yard on Friday afternoon.

    This week Evan, a new student hire, is going to start working (albeit not daily, due to school conflicts). While it hasn’t been too busy for just Leah and me to handle, having another person around and the chance to train a new staffer when it is slow is definitely a plus.

    This week I will also be working on creating some more wheel storage in the back garage bays. Bike builds and organization will occur per usual. One of the main tables that are home to our truing stands and our vice is falling apart. I will look into procuring a new one from Surplus this week as well.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  16. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Tracy—

    This week, I started getting my head back in the game after my absence but did not accomplish anything substantive. I plan to go over notes and pick up the loose threads of the different projects I had been working on in the coming week. In particular, I have communications I need to make on the battery recycling and graduate student/family housing recycling efforts. 

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  18. OMA representatives review stand-alone cooling towers

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

    Water Station Foreman, Shawn Young, indicated today that there are two remaining stand-alone cooling towers on campus buildings maintained by F&S: Temple Buell Hall and the Personnel Services Building.  One of these (Personnel) is scheduled to be added to the central chilled water loop in 2020, according to the Utilities Energy Production and Distribution Master Plan.  Base on that discussion, Morgan Johnston will be following up with the Water SWATeam to let them know that because there are so few remaining stand-alone cooling towers, this is not a high-priority item to pursue.

  19. New Member on the Project Team!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report

    My name is Chen Zhang, a rising senior studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. As a new member of the project, I am excited to join the team and make contributions! This past week, I obtained access to the Energy Billing System (EBS) and created my account at the iCAP Portal. I learned how to navigate both systems and find useful information for the project. Meanwhile, I read documentations and reports developed previously for this project.

     

    On May 25th, Ms. Morgan Johnston (associate director of Facilities and Services (F&S)), Ms. Ana Barnes (from F&S), and I had a meeting. Ten buildings (listed at the end) on campus were picked for the energy analysis between now and December 2017. Their locations and affiliations to different colleges were taken into account during the decision process to engage more students and faculties in future presentations. Meanwhile, we discussed important information that we will include in the energy report cards to raise awareness of energy conservation.

     

    The first building we will analyze is Lincoln Hall. The next step is to gather data for its energy consumptions, including electricity, chilled water, steam, and gas usage, from the EBS website. An excel spreadsheet and graphs will the be developed to show the trend of energy consumption from 2008 until now.

     

    Ten buildings:

    a. Lincoln Hall

    b.  Admin and Records

    c.  DRES – Rehabilitation Center

    d.  SDRP

    e.  National Soybean Research Center

    f. NCEL

    g. Illini Union

    h. Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

    i.   BIF

    j.   Morrill Hall

       

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