“How can we measure a building material’s resistance to heat flow?”
One of a building’s primary functions is to insulate people from the outside world. And just as different materials are made of different atoms, different building materials are more efficient at producing insulation. So how can we quantify this? Well, let’s start by testing each material and assigning it a particular value. Engineers have done this and came up with the concept of the R-value. If you take a material of R-value x and one of R-value y and place one in front of the other then you will obtain a material with an R-value x + y. R-values are one of the fundamental components of modern-day construction
“How can we implement Model Predictive Control for HVAC?”
Model Predictive Control has been applied to all sorts of situations, whether it be self-driving cars or autonomous building systems. So logically, something such as HVAC systems is another area of interest. Model Predictive Control for HVAC takes in parameters of such as heat and humidity and combines it with theoretical principles to have powerful predictive capabilities.
“How can we increase a vehicle’s fuel efficiency with smart HVAC usage?”
In the trucking industry, gas mileage is very important. The less money a fleet manager needs to spend on gas, the more profitable their company will be. However, the human driver also needs to be kept comfortable while at work, which often entails an HVAC system. And if this HVAC system is used, then more gas will be used, meaning the gas mileage will decrease. So how can we use our engineering mindset to solve this problem? Well, we know that what our climate control system really needs is energy. And we know that we can supply energy to appliances using batteries. So what if we were to simply make a Battery Powered HVAC for Trucks? Well, this idea is actually something that is implemented into everyday trucks, due to increases in energy efficiency!
When we think of fuel, we often think of the liquid petroleum that exists within our car. However, not all fuel has to be in a fluid form. In fact, there is such a thing as solid fuels to create heat and power. Many of these solid fuels are very well known such as coal, plant biomass, charcoal, wood, and even municipal waste!
HVAC systems are used to cool down rooms. However, how exactly do they do the cooling part? Well, if you were to move a cold fluid through a warm area, then heat would be transferred from the air to the working fluid. As a result, we can construct something called an evaporator coil, which moves the cooled refrigerant to be exposed to the surroundings.
“How can we use waste energy from an air compressor to power an HVAC system?”
Air compressors can generate a lot of waste steam when they are being used. However, if we use our engineering mindsets and think about the science of cogeneration, then we know that waste heat doesn’t have to be wasted. In fact, we if we install a wind turbine by a compressor, we can actually create energy from this process to power HVAC systems. This is known as an HVAC Wind Turbine and is a brilliant demonstration of engineering capabilities.
“Is there a problem with renewable energy and buildings?”
Renewable energy has large implications for building energy use. However, one of the major problems is that it had difficulty being integrated into the grid systems, as all of the energy comes in as an active form. Therefore, we must consider how to integrate energy storage in buildings, whether it be through batteries or other devices.
“How can climate change slow down our renewable energy portfolio?”
Wind Energy is one of the most fundamental renewable energy resources. However, research performed by the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California Berkeley have shown that wind in the Northern Hemisphere is actually in decline as a result of climate change. As a result, the more the climate warms, the less potential wind will have! So do your part and make sure that you live sustainably so we can have more potential for clean energy!
“How can we apply Machine Learning to estimate electric loads?”
Electric Load Forecasting if vital for making informed decisions about how to use energy throughout the day. And thanks to modern computational technology, we will be able to do such work by applying Machine Learning in Electric Load Forecasting. A computer algorithm can learn the past behavior of electric loads, and then make models to predict future behavior. Electric utility companies are investing large amounts of resources into developing these systems to increase their infrastructure.
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