Concept Generation: All (Keep in Mind the Needs/Specs Chart)
Abstract: Mark
Existing: Matt
Preferred: Joe
Methodology: Corey
Concept Generation: All (keep in mind the needs/specs chart)
●Joe:
a.My first concept is that on every door, there’s a sensor mechanism that everytime a door is opened or closed, it would activate the lights for 5 minutes and then automatically turns itself off.
b.My second concept is to cut the current amount of lights in a hallway down in half and use light bulbs that are more energy efficient. The new light bulbs will have similar amount of lumens compared to the original light bulbs so that the hallway won’t be any darker compared to the existing hallways.
●Mark:
a. My first idea is to install hand-wave sensor in strategically placed locations for hallway (most likely by the elevator) and bathrooms (by the doors). This is an easy way to turn the lights on and off. Also, I think we should replace the current fluorescent bulbs with CFLs. CFL bulbs are much more energy efficient than fluorescent bulbs.
b. My other idea is to install timers on the bathroom and hallway lights. The lights will turn off at a certain time and will stay off unless someone flips the light switch. This allows the lights to be off when no one needs them (usually between the hours of 3:00 AM and 7:00 AM).
Concept Selection: All (keep in mind the needs/specs chart)
●Joe: Option b. It is much cheaper to cut the number of lights in a hallway down and to replace the bulbs with more energy efficient light bulbs that will give similar amount of lumens. Option a. will cost more money to buy all the sensors and install them to every door in the building.
●Mark: option b is better because more practical because the sensor could be faulty and the lights would be constantly going on and off, which wastes energy.
●Matt: option b. much more practical than all y’alls ideas because I’m a modern day Einstein haha
a.Doors be made for every entrance/exit in which there is a light needing area. Students would have to use their ID cards to open these doors. The door opening would signal the lights to either go on or off depending on the direction of the person (judged by which side of the door is swiped).
b.Motion sensors in rooms, hallways, bathrooms, etc with timers on them. When you pass them, the motion turns them on for a set amount of time so that they are off when the lights are not needed.
Matt: My first idea is that doors be made for every entrance or exit where there is an area in need of light. Students would have to swipe their cards as they enter or exit each door. This would signal the lights to turn on or off depending on which side of the door is swiped. This would be so that lights are not left on when they are not in use. My second idea is to install motion sensors in rooms, hallways, and bathrooms with timers on them. Whenever people trigger these sensors, lights will turn on and after a certain amount of time passes with no movement they turn off. This is another way of making sure that lights are not left on when they are not in use.
My second concept is better because it is much more practical. The first idea could cause problems if someone were leaving the building while someone else still needs the light on. The second concept is extremely efficient and would save so much electricity.
Corey: The first of Corey’s two concepts was to replace current hallway lighting in dorms with solid state ballasts and high efficiency T8 lamps. This is basically a lighting system that allows for a more efficient flow of energy. This is an expensive procedure that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but would pay for itself through energy savings within the first three years. His second concept was to reward the floor in Packer hall that saves the most energy throughout the year with a nice steak dinner. This would be inexpensive compared to the last concept and would encourage good habits.
He decided to go with the T8 lamps concept because the annual energy cost of a T8 lamp is almost half of the cost of a traditional T12 lamp. Choosing to reward students is not as reliable because there are still going to be people who do not care about electricity consumption. The energy savings would need to be definite and the option that ensures this is the implementation of T8 lamps.
Sustainability -
1. the capacity to keep on keepin’ on.
2. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged
3. environmentally friendly, increase quality of life, cutting costs of living.
Ideas:
●electricity in dorms
○motion sensored lights*
○hallways and bathrooms
○Packer Hall
Existing Conditions:
●bathroom light always on
●hallway lights always on (some)
●light bulbs (watts??)
Preferred Conditions:
●maximum energy efficiency
●minimize lighting times
●LED light bulbs ???
●inexpensive but efficient
Problems:
●how will changing electricity affect students?
●how will changing electricity affect other factors (water usage...)?
●cost?
●do they care??**
Methodology:
●What data do we collect
○Do students turn of their lights before leaving a room
○how often are their bathroom and hall lights on
○how often do they leave unused equipment plugged in
○do students care about energy efficiency
○Average electricity consumption per year for a certain dorm
●How do we collect it
○Survey students living in dorms
○Contact the office of physical plant
Survey Results:
Do you turn off your lights before leaving your room?
Yes: 53.85% Sometimes: 46.15%
Are your bathroom lights on all of the time?
Yes: 61.54% No: 30.77% Not sure: 7.69%
Are your dorm hallway lights on all of the time?
Yes: 76.92% No: 15.38% Not Sure: 7.69%
How often do you leave unused electrical devices plugged in?
Always: 61.54% Sometimes: 38.46%
How often do you use your microwave?
At least once a day: 15.38%
Once a week: 38.46%
Almost Never: 46.15%
Do you care about energy efficiency?
Yes: 73.91% No: 26.09%
Does it bother you when there are unnecessary lights on?
Yes: 60.87% No: 13.04% I don’t care: 26.09%
If there was a proposal to change current energy consumption method in your dorm, would you be willing to contribute?
Of course: 73.91% Not really: 13.04% i could care less: 13.04%
Average Electricity Consumption per day: 45.7 kWh (data)
Goal: 35 kWh
Abstract:
We are looking for better and more efficient ways to make Penn State a more sustainable community. Specifically, our group focused on energy consumption in residence halls with a focus on Packer Hall. For our existing conditions, we discovered that lights are usually on in the hallways and bathrooms. These circumstances negatively impact the sustainability of the residence halls, so we would like to adopt more efficient lighting techniques. We then used surveys to observe student behavior and attitude towards energy consumption. Next, we looked at our needs and specifications to come up with our concept generations. After that, we weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each concept and collaborated on one that best fit both economically and practically.
Methodology:
When thinking about collecting data that would benefit our project we knew there were two main groups of people we wanted to target. These were students living in dorms and the people who would have access to electricity usage statistics for the particular dorm we were focusing on: the Office of Physical Plant. Students living in dorms are the most knowledgeable of how often lights are left on in rooms, hallways, and bathrooms. In order to get this data we chose to distribute two surveys to students that asked questions with “yes”, “no”, or “not sure” answers: one survey to allow us to find out existing conditions and another to give us insight into preferred conditions. We figured that the most efficient way to reach our target audience was to post the surveys on Facebook. We were able to get a little over 100 responses through this method. For our existing conditions survey, we asked questions like “How often are hallway lights left on?” or “How often do you leave unused electrical devices plugged in?” This gave us a good idea of how often electricity is being used on the average dorm floor. It also helped us figure out how much of that electricity consumption can be eliminated.We asked questions about hallway lighting, bathroom lighting, room lighting, and electrical devices because we wanted to see if there was one particular fixture that was accounting for a majority of the energy consumption. For our preferred conditions survey, we asked questions like “Does it bother you when there are unnecessary lights left on?” or “Do you care about energy efficiency?” This helped us to find out what changes students living in dorms would want to see. It also helped us get a feel for how students would be willing to help this sustainability project depending on what type of plan is implemented.One thing we really wanted to find out was if students are willing to go out of their way to save energy because that could be a huge factor in what concept we choose to go with. In order to find the amount of electricity usage in Packer hall, we contacted the Office of Physical Plant. They were able to provide us with yearly electricity usage statistics from the past four years. These statistics helped us formulate a goal for electricity use reduction. By looking at the numbers we were able to get a good idea for a target value. Through this process we will be able to develop concepts that are satisfactory for students and meet our overall goal of cutting down on electricity.
Preferred Conditions:
As a group, we are looking for ways to cut down on the amount of time hallway lights, bathroom lights, and bedroom lights are turned on in Packer Hall during the course of the day. As of right now, hallway lights in dormitories are always on. Many times, people also forget to turn off the bathroom and bedroom lights when they leave the room. As stated in the section titled “Existing Conditions”, about 62% of the people leave their bathroom lights on all the time and only 54% say they turn off their lights when they leave their room. From the data we have collected and the survey we have conducted, most people are bothered when unnecessary lights are on. Therefore, our users prefer to have lights off when no one is using them. Another survey that we put out shows that 74% of the people say that they care about energy efficiency. This means that a lot of people are either too lazy or just simply forget to turn off their lights. This type of behavior is all mental, so a preferred condition for the users is that the solution will be easy to use. The owners are another stakeholder group. Their main goal is to reduce the use of electricity as much as possible because the owners want to save more money. They want to reduce electricity usage, but still maintain the requirements for lighting. According to the Penn State Room Calculations website, bedrooms require 15 lumens per square foot, hallways require 7.5 lumens per square foot, and bathrooms require 75 lumens per square foot (Room Calculations). The data shows how bright rooms and hallways should be. The owners prefer a solution that is inexpensive and energy efficient compared to the existing conditions. Another preferred condition is to minimize lighting time of hallways. The preferred solution will be inexpensive compared to other possible solution. The solution will save energy, but still produce a similar amount of lumens per square foot. In conclusion, the users prefer the solution to turn off unnecessary lights when not needed and to be easy to use. The owners prefer the solution to be inexpensive and energy efficient and to minimize lighting time.
Existing Conditions:
Dormitories are an important part of living when it comes to a college campus. Students spend a lot of their time in these living areas. However, the current dormitories here at Pennsylvania State University are not very sustainable. Sustainability, as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is that “a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged” (Merriam-Webster). “Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations” (EPA). This means that the current society needs to live in a way such that future societies will not be negatively affected. As one could imagine, the amount of electricity consumed per year in the dorms is relatively high. As a group, we have decided to focus on one dormitory: Packer Hall here at Penn State. Over a span of four years (2009-2012), the average electricity consumption per year comes out to be 373,641.25 kilowatt hours. Most of this electricity consumed is due to the dorm lighting. This information was obtained from a survey completed by students who live in the dorms themselves. The questions asked were aimed to give us an idea of just how much of a role lighting plays in the electricity consumption. When asked whether or not students turn off their lights before leaving their rooms, only 54% said that they did. 62% of students said that the bathroom lights in the dorms were always on and 77% concluded that the hallways lights were always on as well. Although these are horrible statistics, not all of the existing conditions are bad. When asked if they cared about energy efficiency, 74% said that they did, and the same number of students said that they would be willing to contribute to making a change in the current energy consumption in their dorms. Furthermore, 61% said that unnecessary lighting tends to bother them. With all this being said, we now know that the amount of electricity consumed by lighting in Packer Hall, our case study, is not sustainable. Bathroom lights and hallway lights are always on, and lights in close to half of the dorm rooms are left on even when they are not in use. Energy is not being conserved, and this is keeping Packer Hall from being a sustainable dormitory.
Conclusion:
When comparing each of our ideas together, Matt’s second option turned out to be best fit for our list of needs. The use of timed motion sensors throughout the dormitory would provide a more energy efficient dorm in which students would still be able to go about their normal everyday activities, and then when these activities stop, the lights will do the same until another activity is to begin. Each sensor will have a timer set to two minutes. The timer will begin as soon as no movement is sensed. The design itself would be different for each area in a dorm. The hallway would be powered by a two wide range motion sensors on the ceiling each placed equidistant from each other and the end of the hallway. The bedrooms would be powered by one motion sensor in the center of the ceiling, however, each bedroom would have an on/off switch that would allow a student to turn off the motion sensor when they go to sleep and then back on at the start of the day. The bathrooms would be powered by three wide range motion sensors: one in the center of the ceiling, another on the side wall on top of the showers, and the other on the side wall on top of the stalls. The motion sensors on the side wall of the showers and stalls would serve as a safety net for those showering or using the restroom. If the lights were to go off while a student was still showering or using the restroom, then that student could simply spark the motion sensor by waving a hand in the air which would turn the lights back on for them.
Based off of our needs and specifications, there really weren’t any constraints that held us back through our concept generation and selection process other than one. That constraint included the surveys that were completed to generate our existing and preferred conditions. We were unable to make sure that all of the data collected was solely from kids who live in our case study dormitory, Packer Hall. In order to obtain a more precise data collection, future investigators should be sure to target the single dorm that they are investigating. In our case, we were able to work with the data that we received from these surveys due to similar nature of student actions along with similar dormitory make up.
Throughout our project, we did encounter an overlapping problem concerning the students and energy consumption. The problem is that not all students particularly care about energy efficiency and conservation. The remaining question: how can we make people truly care about energy efficiency and conservation? Keep in mind a definition of sustainability. “Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations” (EPA). With the amount of students not caring about this topic, the idea of a sustainable campus would be tough to make a reality. In an attempt to solve this problem, conducting research in the subjects of human nature and psychology may be a place to start.