Energy Efficiency in Chicago High Schools
Apr 2018 - Apr 2020
with ComEd, Illinois GreenBuild, and Illinois Institute of Technology
I created a platform that connects high schools in need of energy efficiency improvements to utilities that provide no-cost energy audits. A utility engineer provides an assessment at the school to determine the energy improvements that can be made, often in the form of LED lights or HVAC systems. These improvements are often low-hanging fruit: with a simple payback time of less than two years, schools can save money that can be reinvested back into school activities.
I started this project when I found out that my high school had an Energy Star score of 8 (out of 100), which is a measure of a site's energy consumption efficiency. Even then, one doesn't need a formal audit to see that the large number of fluorescent lights that were on even when nobody was in the building was neither efficient nor sustainable. Since then, my school has received LED lighting upgrades, as well as improvements to HVAC. This project has been expanded to other schools, targeting schools that have older buildings and can make the most out of an energy audit to capture those low-hanging fruit. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in funding projects like this, but it is well worth it.
Challenges of Microgrid Deployment
Jun 2020 - Sep 2020
with Stanford Precourt Institute of Technology's Bits & Watts Program
As electric vehicles are becoming prominent and the nation is looking toward more renewable sources of energy, we should examine, as a society, how to best organize our energy distribution system. Centralized coal-fired plants are becoming obsolete and residential customers are deploying rooftop solar panels. This leads into microgrids, which are a self-sufficient energy systems that serve a specific location, such as a college campus, hospital complex, business center, or neighborhood. In other words, they can operate independently of the electrical grid, using distributed energy resources such as solar panels, wind turbines, combined heat & power, or generators.
Over the summer, in team of 4, we evaluated the feasibility of microgrids in the current energy industry. We wrote a 25-page research paper on microgrids detailing viability of clean microgrids in the US and in the global landscape (India, Australia, East Africa), documenting the obstacles that microgrids face regarding technology, policy, and economics. We defined 5 types of microgrids by customer segment and capabilities. Furthermore, we identified future innovation opportunities in system integration, energy-as-a-service, government financing, and modularization. As evidence for our paper, we conducted a literature review and interviewed 30 people in the energy industry, including the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), PG&E, California Energy Commission, and ComEd.
