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New Mexico State University

CORRECTION - 11/16/07 Please see Problem Statement Section

Updated 10/26/07 - see attachment to problem statement

Innovative Technologies for an Existing Commercial Building

    Research, prioritize, develop and then demonstrate innovative technologies that can be applied to existing commercial buildings to improve efficiency and reduce its environmental footprint. 

Table of Contents
Background Problem Statement
Design Considerations Evaluation Criteria
Bench-Scale Demonstration Written Report Requirements
For More Information  

Background

    Unless you live in a cave, there is no way you can avoid the widespread attention being placed on the design of “Green” buildings today.  In fact, buildings in the United States account for as much as 36 percent of the total energy use as well as 30 percent of all greenhouse emissions.  Although there have been numerous breakthroughs in this area, much of the focus is on new building construction.  What about existing commercial buildings? How does an owner of a commercial building easily identify and then economically retrofit an older building to be more efficient and thereby reducing its environmental footprint?

Problem Statement

    Research, prioritize, develop and then demonstrate innovative technologies that can be applied to existing commercial buildings to improve efficiency.  Students should assume the building in question is:

  • Located in Phoenix, Arizona;

  • 6-stories tall each having a foot print of 100,000 square feet - corrected to reflect the attachment - 4-stories tall total footprint 100,000 square feet;

  • constructed with a flat, built-up roof, dual-pane windows and standard fluorescent lighting; and

  • equipped with low flow, manual flush toilets.

Specific design criteria are attached: Task 1 Building Standards.pdf

Design Considerations

The approach and technologies chosen should:

  • fully leverage public and/or open source data and technologies on the topic;

  • be cost effective and have a reasonable Return on Investment (ROI);

  • be easy to implement into an existing facility;

  • be easy and safe to install/use;

  • meet all regulatory standards; and

  • be consistent with EPA’s pollution prevention hierarchy.

Evaluation Criteria

    Each team is advised to read the Participation Guide for a comprehensive understanding of the contest evaluation criteria.  Upon your registration, WERC will provide you with a copy of the Public Involvement Plan and Participation Guide.  Additionally, your proposed design will be evaluated on issues identified in the problem statement.  In addition to the general criteria given in the Participation Guide, responses to this task statement will be evaluated on the following:

  • Understanding of present industry practices;

  • Practicality of proposed methods;

  • Magnitude of proposed cost reduction;

  • Justification of cost reduction predictions;

  • System reliability and redundancy;

  • Novelty of proposed methods;

  • Originality in bench-scale demonstration;  and

  • Use of mobile technology.

Bench-Scale Demonstration

    During the contest, WERC will provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate the proposed bench-scale.  The bench-scale should highlight one or more green technologies that would be installed in the facility to demonstrate the environmental benefit of the technology.

    Your poster presentation should demonstrate green technologies available to reduce the  environmental footprint and projected improvements, assessment recommendations, retrofit and operating costs over a five year period. 

Written Report Requirements

    The written report is the best means to demonstrate your team’s insight into the problem, to allude to other possibilities considered but not pursued and why and to give the reader full understanding of the magnitude of your team’s involvement with the problem details.  The report will be evaluated for clarity, logic and coherence.  Standards appropriate for publications in technical journals apply.

    In addition to the listed requirements, the following must be included in your report to WERC management: 

  • Describe approach and process steps in detail;

  • Discuss advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of the selected approach or process;

  • Include recent references and sources of information;

  • Address safety issues and considerations;

  • Discuss the installation steps required; and 

  • Discuss costs.

For More Information

Contact:
Barbara Valdez, Program Facilitator
(575) 646-7821
(800) 523-5996