Energy Systems Commons^™

A Screening Tool For The Implementation Of Electric And Thermal Energy Storage Systems At Commercial And Industrial Facilities, Mckenna P. Amerson

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of on-site renewable systems with energy storage devices is an important topic in improving energy management for commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Energy storage technologies have the ability to impact the end user’s power reliability while creating measurable energy and cost savings. However, the potential yet remains to increase the application of these systems. To determine the feasibility of renewables and energy storage in commercial and industrial applications, a pre-screening software tool is developed using data-driven algorithms to complete an energy, cost, and carbon savings analysis of storage implementation. A case study of a standalone retail building is …

Mmteg Heatsink Design, Peyton Nienaber, Kadin Feldis, Alec Savoye, Jack Waeschle

Mechanical Engineering

In this document, Cal Poly Senior Design Team F16 presents a summary of its work developing a suitable heatsink for Gas Technology Institute’s Methane Mitigation Thermoelectric Generator. After several months of iterating between experimental testing and simulated heat transfer, a suitable prototype was selected for use in further refining simulation parameters. This was called the structural prototype and it allowed Team F16 to confirm several remaining unknowns relating to component thermal conductivity. All documentation of this process can be found in Preliminary, Critical, and Interim Design Review documents (PDR, CDR, IDR), included in this report. Having a realistic model …

An Assessment Of Renewable Energy Technology Implementation In Storrs, Connecticut: Emissions Reduction And Feasibility Of A Microgrid System At Uconn, Sophie Macdonald

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this project is to design a clean energy-sourced microgrid for UConn’s main campus that would reduce the university’s energy emissions while remaining within the geographic boundaries of viable UConn-owned land. Economic cost was not considered in this analysis; instead, emissions and space constraints were the optimized measures of value and feasibility. Sources of energy that were considered include photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, hydrokinetic systems, and fuel cells. Energy storage capacity was included in the analysis as well. The overall system was optimized first by ignoring space constraints and for a minimum of 10% reduction from the current …

Stair Climbing Hand Truck, James Mcpherson

All Undergraduate Projects

Abstract

Getting a heavy object up a flight of stairs usually requires a team of two or more people. Even with a team of people, the task is often still difficult, dangerous, and possibly insurmountable by one person. This problem is especially prevalent in for those who are moving into apartment complexes. Most apartment complexes have many buildings with two or more floors of living quarters, and elevators are often missing. This project sought to offer a solution to this problem. The solution in question; a motorized hand-truck with 2, trigonal planar pinwheels in place of the stock wheels. The …

Autojack - Hydraulic Powertrain System, Tyce Vu

All Undergraduate Projects

A primary problem for mechanics and automotive enthusiasts is the risk associated with lifting and securing a vehicle with conventional jack stands. Often times, improper jack-stand installation results in the vehicle collapsing unexpectedly, causing injury and/or death. This problem can be minimized through the application of a newly re-designed vehicle lifting system. The conventional method for lifting cars is time consuming and can be unsafe in many circumstances. A better, safer, and more efficient lift design was needed; the AutoJack. The approach of the AutoJack design was entirely focused on the safety of lifting a vehicle. Safety was improved by …

A Swing Generator Using Water Power Produced By The Wind, Ruka Ozaki

The International Student Science Fair 2018

I focus on various kinds of natural energy sources, especially wind. Wind power generation is the most-used method of electricity generation using wind power. Wind power generation has many merits; it achieves high efficiency of electric power generation, it can generate electricity even during the night, it doesn’t make any hazardous materials. However, there are not only merits but also demerits. It can cause bird strike, environment disruption from noise and low-frequency wave. And besides, we must comply building laws when we build wind power generators. Thus I built ‘a swing generator using water power produced by the wind power’, …

Cal Poly Brocade Challenge 2013, Chandler Morehardt, Alexa Coburn, Juan Silva, Kerry Sun, Greg Wang, Raul Chagoya, Jd Torres

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

2011 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, Fall 2011 Engr333

ENGR 333

Analysis of the Bunker Interpretive Center (BIC) began during the spring of 2011 with the Engineering 382 Instrumentation Lab. To determine the energy use at the BIC, sensing equipment was placed on 44 different energy consuming devices, ranging from pumps to lights to heating and ventilation (HVAC) equipment. These data were collected over the spring and summer and then analyzed by the Engineering 333 Thermal Systems Design class during the fall of 2011. The class was tasked with determining whether or not the BIC was eligible for Energy Star certification. While the building was built to be LEED Gold certified, …

2011 Fall Engr333 Student Seminar Presentation, 2011 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2010 class of ENGR333.

2011 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2011 ENGR333 project focused on the Bunker Interpretive Center (BIC) at Calvin University.

I asked the students “What would it take for Calvin College to obtain an Energy Star rating for the BIC? Or, if the BIC already qualifies for an Energy Star rating, what would it take to improve the energy efficiency of the BIC (as measured by Energy Star metrics) by 15%, thereby ensuring Energy Star performance of the building into the future?”

Customer

As I recall, the customer for this project was Biology faculty member Randy Van Dragt.

2010 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, 2010 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

Calvin College dorms have a chronic issue with wasting energy. The dorms have little insulation, high infiltration rates, and are heated by low efficiency boilers. These existing characteristics combine for a larger required heating load and increased energy usage. The excess heat, due to poor temperature control, is often vented out through the windows whenever students deem necessary. This project will attempt to reduce wasted energy and efficiently distribute heat as needed.

The Thermal Systems Design class of 2010 was challenged with retrofitting the Bolt-Heyns-Timmer (BHT) dorm to decrease energy consumption and improve efficiency. The class was presented with the …

2010 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2010 ENGR333 project focused on heating and air-conditioning in campus dormitories, which are notoriously leaky and inefficient.

I asked the students “What would it take to retrofit the Bolt-Heyns-Timmer (BHT) dormitory heating and air-conditioning systems in a manner that achieves LEED certification?”

Customer

The customer for this project was Calvin’s VP for finance Henry DeVries.

2008 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, 2008 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

The Calvin College Engineering 333 class of 2008 was challenged with the question, “What would it take to implement an energy efficiency fund at Calvin?” Before addressing this question, another had to be asked: “What is an energy efficiency fund?” An energy efficiency fund is a revolving fund which takes seed money from donations, tuition, or grants and invests it into projects that save energy. Energy cost savings from the projects are routed back to the fund to help it grow and enable it to finance future projects. In order to begin this, the senior engineering students began organizing and …

2008 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2008 semester ENGR333 project assessed the feasibility of a Green Revolving Fund for Calvin College. I asked the students “What would it take to implement a Calvin Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF)?”

The project emerged from the work of the previous year’s students who uncovered the concept of green revolving funds.

Immediately after the Fall 2008 semester, I went on sabbatical to South Africa for all of 2009. While I was away, the Calvin administration established the Calvin Energy Recovery Fund (CERF). Over the next decade, CERF saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs and was …

2005 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

In the Fall 2005 semester, I challenged the ENGR333 students to “develop realistic designs for the wellness center HVAC system and upgraded physical plant infrastructure.”

Customer

The customer for this project was Calvin’s VP for finance Henry DeVries.

2004 Fall Engr333 Final Report On Co-Generation (Section A), Matt Dekam, Chris Wiesehan, Jason Flietstra, Jeremy Hanson, Brian Katerberg, Kevin Palmer, Aaron Svacha, Aaron Buys, Josh Blocker, Matt Vredevoogd, Andrew Huisjen, Thomas Totoe, Andy Vandermoren, Chris Vanroekel

ENGR 333

The goal of the project was to construct a realistic plan to get Calvin off the grid. This means that Calvin would own and operate on-site facilities that generate all the electricity consumed by the campus. Current peak load for the college is approximately three megawatts. Upon completion of the new recreation center and dining hall renovation, future load will climb to roughly five megawatts. As a result, the desired system to remove the college from the grid would provide five megawatts.

2004 Fall Engr333 Final Report On Wind Generation (Section B), Terry Austen, Kristin De Groot, Matt Ooms, Andy Van Noord, Kurt Koubal, Dan Kuiper, Andy Wermel, Ryan Dewall, Eddie Lucas, Dawn Svenkeson

ENGR 333

An energy savings plan for Calvin College has been developed. The plan suggests implementing a small-scale wind turbine pilot program and an energy usage awareness program (Powerful Savings). If implemented, this proposal could save around $6,400 annually with a payback period of 8 years.

2004 Fall Student Seminar, Matt Dekam, Chris Wiesehan, Jason Flietstra, Jeremy Hanson, Brian Katerberg, Kevin Palmer, Aaron Svacha, Aaron Buys, Josh Blocker, Matt Vredevoogd, Andrew Huisjen, Thomas Totoe, Andy Vandermoren, Chris Vanroekel, Terry Austen, Kristin De Groot, Matt Ooms, Andy Van Noord, Kurt Koubal, Dan Kuiper, Andy Wermel, Ryan Dewall, Eddie Lucas, Dawn Svenkeson

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2004 class of ENGR333.

A Central Heating-Plant For The Rhode Island College, Albert Prince Kenyon

Student and Lippitt Prize Essays

A proposal for transferring the University of Rhode Island’s heating system to a central structure that would ensure safety, financial savings and convenience.

How Electricity May Be Used To Operate Machinery, John Franklin Knowles

Student and Lippitt Prize Essays

Explores the uses of electricity in a machine shop in shifting from belt and shaft systems to the use of electric plants.