Roof-top Hydroelectricity and Slaying “Vampire Power” Among Low-cost, Energy-Saving Ideas From Finalists in Pitt’s “Green” Building Contest
Finalists receive $2,500 each to fully develop affordable energy-conserving method that pays for itself in one year
Roof-top
hydroelectricity from rainwater, a solar-powered device that heats and
cools a room, or just a Web site that tells people the amount of power they
burn.
These are among the proposals from five student teams selected as finalists in
the sustainable-building contest hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Mascaro
Center for Sustainable Innovation. Launched in August, the 2008 Energy
Efficient Building Technologies Challenge asked undergraduate students from
universities in Southwestern Pennsylvania to create a technique for “greening”
old buildings that carries a low-price tag and a quick payoff.
The finalist teams represent Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne
University, as well as a variety of majors, including architecture, engineering,
and the humanities. Each team will receive $2,500 to bring their idea to
fruition: a plan for implementation, projected energy conservation for one
year, and, if possible, a prototype. The winning team receives $5,000;
second-place, $2,500; and third-place, $1,000. All winners will be invited to
present their projects at the 2009 Pittsburgh Engineering Sustainability
Conference hosted by the Mascaro Center and Carnegie Mellon’s Steinbrenner
Institute for Environmental Education and Research.
The contest received 29 proposals from undergraduate teams in Allegheny and
bordering counties. Contestants had to create a product or system that reduces
electricity consumption and would pay for itself in subsequent savings within
one year. Projects also will be judged for originality, possibility of
successful implementation, and by the level to which they allow people to
maintain their quality of life.
Buildings are one of the United States’ largest energy drains. Older buildings
in particular commonly hemorrhage energy because of poor insulation, old
wiring, and outdated lighting. To fix these shortcomings, property owners
typically pay contractors large sums for solutions with a long payback time.
The outfitting of older buildings with energy-conserving features is a
considerable issue in areas such as the Pittsburgh region, which hosts many
buildings and homes built prior to 1940.
The Mascaro Center, housed in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, specializes
in sustainable-design research and innovation. Support for the design challenge
also comes from the Heinz Endowments. Complete rules and deadlines are
available on the Mascaro Center’s Web site at www.mascarocenter.pitt.edu.
Brief proposals for the five projects are below.
Eliminating Power Drain Through Idle Devices: Call it “vampire power” or
“phantom load,” standby power is the electricity that appliances and gizmos not
in use nonetheless devour—a television set or computer monitor in standby mode
or a cell phone or iPod charger left plugged into the wall. Two Pitt
bioengineering students proposed a component that would block power going to
the device when the device goes from active to standby.
Renewable-source Powered Window Fan: A mechanical engineering student
and an industrial engineering student from Pitt will tackle the biggest drain
on household energy use: heating and cooling. The team proposes a window
fan/heating unit that would combine cooling and heating systems into a single
device with a renewable energy source.
Low-cost Wind Generator Coupled With Energy Saving Methods: A Pitt
mechanical engineering student and a Duquesne University rhetoric and classics
student conceived of a two-part plan involving a wind-energy generator coupled
with typical energy-saving methods.
Hydroelectricity Through Rain Water: Forget solar power—four Carnegie
Mellon mechanical engineering students envision rainwater as a convenient and
renewable hydroelectric source. The proposed system would collect rainwater
then fire it into a turbine to generate electricity.
Reducing Residential Electricity Consumption Through Internet-based Power
Monitoring: Chemistry, architecture, and mechanical engineering students
from a Carnegie Mellon team thought of reducing energy consumption simply by
informing people of how much power they burn. The students aim to help
residents reduce their power consumption by 20 percent annually through a
device that would transmit home power-use data to a personalized Web site.
There is always newsworthy research and events happening in the Swanson School of Engineering.
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