The Commons » sobryan

Energy use during “net zero week trial 1″

sobryan — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 13:37:38 +0000

Summary of Net Zero Commons Trial–by Seth O’Bryan

Below is a table summarizing net energy use in the Commons from March 2-6, 2015. An important caveat is that this doesn’t include the energy use of the compressors, which drive the heating and cooling. The compressors are the biggest energy users in the building. Given the time of year, and this being our first attempt at net zero, the Living Building class wanted to focus on manageable energy uses.

Date	Mon 3/2	Tue 3/3	Wed 3/4	Thu 3/5	Fri 3/6
Total use	191.9	148.9	150.53	205.279	134.4
Solar	16.975	7.3	15.7	12.98	80.223
Net energy	175.15	141.6	134.8	192.31	54.18

Throughout the week of trying to reach net zer0, the Living Building class provided visual support and feedback to those interested in the ongoing pursuit and results. The interactive board was used frequently during the week and was the communal responsibility of the class to answer questions about the systems and provide information about the progress.

Net zero week trial #1

sobryan — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 13:53:16 +0000

Guest author: Cameron Yudelson

For the last several weeks the students of the Living Building class have been working on a net zero energy project. The goal of this project is to conserve as much energy in the Commons. The ultimate goal is for energy use to match the amount of solar output, effectively canceling each other out and reaching a point of “net zero” energy. To reach this goal, there are many things students and teachers can do, such as turning off lights and unused computers, unplugging unused power cables, lowering temperatures in your room, utilizing the solar chimneys, and even bringing a warm sweater to class.

This project is a collaborative effort between the Living Building class, led by Seth O’Bryan, and the teachers and students of classes located within the Commons. The students of the Living Building class have been compiling information on the “Barn”, as well as the history of the Harley school, collecting information of where our energy is coming from and how it is used in the building, and then analyzing data of energy usage in hopes of understanding how we can conserve energy. Conserving energy in the past year of the barn has proven difficult due to technical difficulties and a historically cold winter that has required more energy production than anticipated. Like you, we are looking forward to the upcoming warm weather when we can preserve energy.

For more information on the project and ways to get involved, contact Seth O’Bryan at sobryan@harleyschool.org or come on down to the Control Room during 1st period! For this project to succeed, we need as much community participation as possible.

Colm’s solar space heater

sobryan — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:58:10 +0000

There are two solar chimneys in the greenhouse. The idea of the chimneys is to use convection principles to circulate hot air from the greenhouse into the classrooms, so that we use the heating and cooling units less. The solar chimneys use passive heat, which means that we are saving energy. In order to better understand how a solar chimney works and how to test to see if the chimney is working, Colm K-T created a model solar space heater from soda cans. Below is his solar demo. Colm also made brochures that explain the basics of the chimney.