Campus as a Learning Lab
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Item Open Access Toward Sustainable Transportation on Campus: Analysis and Results of the 2020 University of Calgary Commuting Habits Survey(2021-08-19) Kamkar, HassanThe University of Calgary, comprising more than 33,000 students and 7,000 employees, contributes significantly to the city's transportation demand and needs for different transportation modes. Thus, it is important to enhance the sustainable transportation network and shift commuters' transportation demand to more sustainable modes. With this aim, the Ancillary Services and Office of Sustainability of the university, in partnership with a research group from the Civil Engineering Department of the university, started a project called "Toward Sustainable Transportation on Campus". In order to obtain the required data for this project, an online survey was designed and distributed among university members to capture their commuting behaviour and their attitude toward various aspects of transportation. We investigated the gathered data to shed light on commuters' current situation travel patterns to and from the University of Calgary campuses. We also identified barriers to use each transportation mode and examined the satisfaction level commuters have with their trips. Based on the results obtained from our analysis, a set of recommendations is provided that could increase the desirability of sustainable transportation modes and encourage commuters to switch from private cars to public transit and active modes.Item Open Access Contribution of the University of Calgary Institutional Sustainability Strategy to the Sustainable Development Goals(2020-08) Gomez Blanco, Andres; Herremans, Irene; Keogh, ÁineThis project addresses the following question: to what extent does the University of Calgary Institutional Sustainability Strategy (ISS) contribute the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recent studies do not report the contribution of the higher education sector to the SDGs. Also, the use of frameworks and guidelines is not clearly stated. This research gap is addressed by applying the SDG Compass steps to the ISS and reviewing the U of C’s materiality matrix. The findings demonstrate that the Compass serves as a tool to identify the ISS contribution. Besides, the materiality matrix is a key driver in determining the material aspects in the ISS scope. Six SDGs, eight targets, and nine indicators comprise the Strategy’s contribution with specific actions regarding education, clean energy, innovation, responsible consumption, and climate change. Finally, 25 indicators were designed to measure the ISS contribution from 2020 to 2021.Item Open Access Using smartphone data to design urban spaces: visualization, modeling, and public engagement(2020-05-21) Rout, Angela; Galpern, Paul; Maurer, Frank; Willett, Wesley J.; Tsenkova, SashaUniversity campuses contain outdoor spaces that, when well-designed, can support student well-being. It may be easier to design campuses that benefit students if designers are aware of student movement and campus use patterns. Until quite recently, precise data about how students move around their campuses has not been widely available. However, the near ubiquity of smartphones, and their capacity to collect location data, presents new opportunities both to understand student movements, and more generally, the movements of people across urban areas. While the data are abundant and seemingly available, much work remains to demonstrate the value of this resource in real-world urban design applications. This thesis presents four stand-alone manuscripts that address different aspects of the urban design process, using a single university campus as a model system. The first provides a review of how location data have been used to understand human behaviour in urban settings. The remaining three draw on a data set of smartphone locations collected from 300 students, tracking their individual movements on a university campus. One study, using these data, considers how best to incorporate location data in public engagement. Another demonstrates a tool for visualizing location data intended for use by design experts. And a final study investigates patterns in the use of design features by modelling the data. These studies demonstrate that location data derived from smartphones (for example, smartphone-GPS data) can be used by non-experts in public engagement scenarios, that it can also help architects to understand flows of human movement, and that it can guide designers towards better-informed decisions about design features. The introduction of the thesis provides the context for this research, and provides an overview of each chapter. The thesis concludes by discussing how all four studies provide insights for future researchers and more specifically, to designers of campus plans.Item Open Access Optimization of Waste Collection System at University of Calgary(2019-08) Farahbakhsh, SamiraThis project would not have been possible without the support of Ana Pazmino at facility management of University of Calgary. Her support through all the steps of this project was invaluable and helped me to understand and develop thoughts and ideas. Secondly, I want to thank Irene Herremans for her support in this degree. Her guidance, immense knowledge and support to keep me on track, made this project happens. Also, thanks to my friend Elshan who always kept me motivated. Finally, I want to thank my family specially my husband Amir who supported me all the way in this journey with his love, patience and companion.Item Open Access Modeling of the Water-based Heating System of the Mechanical Engineering Building at the University of Calgary(2019-12) Ahmed, Saeed; Li, Simon; Li, Leping; Ramirez Serrano, Alejandro; Nezhad, Amir Sanati; Hu, JinguangIn this research, the model of the water-based heating system of Mechanical Engineering Building (MEB) is developed. This project is conducted in collaboration with “Office of Sustainability” of University of Calgary (UofC), because one of their goals is to reduce the energy consumption of UofC’s buildings. The water-based heating system has one of the major share in total energy consumption of a building. It highlights the importance of building this model, which can help to understand some important aspects and variables (related to energy consumption) of the water-based heating system. The model has four major component models, namely boiler, Air Handling Unit (AHU), Reheat Coil (RHC) and radiator (RAD). A component model aggregately represents the similar type of equipment in MEB. For example, a single boiler model is used to represent two boilers of the water-based heating system of MEB. The component models of AHU and RHC are based on energy balance equations, and these are gray-box models. However, the models of boiler and RAD are black-box models, because some required data is not available for developing their gray-box models. The empirical data for developing component models is collected through Building Management System (BMS) software, with the help of Office of Sustainability. The model is developed in Simulink. An individual model for each component is developed and then parameters are estimated for each component model. The parameters of gray-box models are estimated in Simulink, whereas the coefficient parameters for black-box models are estimated in MS-Excel. The output of each component model is then compared with the measured data to ascertain the error. The integrated model of the water-based heating system is developed by connecting the component models. Being a pilot project, the worked helped all involved to understand the opportunities available and the difficulties present, to undertake a project related to UofC building heating system. The Simulink model developed can help the facility management of UofC to look into energy consumption of the water-based heating system of MEB.Item Open Access The Irony of Climate Science and the Race to Net Zero A Carbon Footprint Investigation(2019-08-19) MacKinnon, Catherine Marie; Assefa, GetachewA carbon footprint investigation of the Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS), which supports the advancement of climate science, is vital to identify the organization’s large-scale contribution to climate change. A comprehensive measurement of KLRS’s emissions profile enables the development of effective mitigation and management strategies to approach net zero carbon, in alignment with current IPCC projections. The GHG Protocol Standard was applied to evaluate KLRS’s material emission sources and understand its energy demands and environmental impacts, supplemented with an economic analysis of mitigation efforts addressing its predominant direct contributor. The findings yielded 86 percent of KLRS’s absolute emissions were scope 3 with 86 percent attributable to aviation, emphasizing the importance of decarbonization, extensive behavioural change, and global collaboration essential to progress this fundamental exploration whilst minimizing its impact. This signifies a critical juncture in addressing climate science’s ironically high carbon signature and the synergistic pursuit required to realize carbon neutrality.Item Open Access Minimizing Demand Transmission Service Charges in Optimal Sizing and Scheduling Of Campus Microgrids(2019-01-25) Karami, Mahboobeh; Trifkovic, Milana; Knight, A. M.; Shor, Roman J.; Nowicki, Edwin Peter; Macnab, Chris J. B.Microgrids have paved the way through the exploitation of distributed generation resources and eliminating the requisite of high-duty transmission infrastructure. The study presented in this thesis develops a two-stage optimization problem for the optimal sizing and operation of campus/institutional microgrids considering delivery charges. At the first stage, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) is implemented to determine the optimal configuration of microgrid which consists of solar Photo-Voltaics (PVs), batteries and microturbines (MTs). The incorporation of delivery charges leads to a significant reduction in transmission charges without sacrificing the power exchange limit. Resulted savings on electricity bill grants the capital investment in microgrid components. In the second stage, a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) on a rolling horizon basis is formulated for the optimal operation of the microgrid under sizing results obtained in the first stage. Moreover, an efficient Peak Load (PL) hour forecast framework is established to minimize the coincident PL charges. Both volatile and flat electricity price scenarios are studied to investigate the impact of electricity prices on microgrid optimal sizing and operation. In order to test the proposed methodology, University of Calgary main campus is selected as the case study and historical hourly load data are used.Item Embargo The Benefits Of Building Resealing And Lighting Fixture Renovation(2016) Philip, ThomasApproaches reducing energy usage are identified for university residence buildings in this project, and applied in an analysis for a particular building, namely Olympus Hall, University of Calgary. It is proposed that building resealing and lighting fixture renovation are effective techniques to reduce energy consumption. Three dimensions are considered for each technique: actual (before) and estimated (after) energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and the estimated simple payback period. The proposed resealing of Olympus Hall would result in an estimated 46.66% reduction in annual heating energy use with a payback period of 8 years and 8 months. The proposed replacement of the T12 lighting system with a T8 lighting system at Olympus Hall would produce an estimated 31.2% annual electrical energy savings with a payback period of 3 years and 7 months. Applying both approaches results in an estimated total carbon dioxide emission reduction for Olympus Hall of 39.75% annually.Item Open Access Evaluation Of The University Of Calgary Cogeneration Plant(2015) Lessoway, SteveWith greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of electrical power in Alberta being among the highest in Canada, facilities are adopting cogeneration technology to achieve reductions in GHG emissions while also benefiting from decreased energy costs. In 2011 the University of Calgary (U of C) completed construction of a $48 million cogeneration plant to work in conjunction with the campus district energy system with expectations of cutting emissions and reducing energy costs. The objective of this evaluation is to provide a high level review of the operation of: cogeneration technology, the U of C cogeneration plant, and energy consumption on the U of C Campus. Data reviewed and analyzed is from a sample operating year from November 2012 to October 2013. This evaluation will identify potential opportunities for system optimization that offer economic or environmental benefits as well as provide a detailed understanding of performance achievements and shortfalls.Item Embargo Pre-feasibility Study Of District Energy In The West Campus Development(2014) Dufour, Philippe; Mistry, Krupa; Ritchie, RheanneDistrict Energy (DE) stands as a promising technology, which has environmental, energy, and economic benefits. DE has the potential to reduce our dependence on centralized energy production, carbon-intensive power generation, and also alleviates significant infrastructure cost at the building and community levels. Currently, centralized electricity generation creates system inefficiencies, which are both wasteful and expensive elements of status quo operations. Building specific downstream heating and cooling infrastructure poses similar liabilities. While DE systems are currently being used in a variety of urban applications with the goal of avoiding these system inefficiencies altogether, these systems do require a master-planned implementation in most cases, which makes retrofitting a challenging endeavor. The objective of this report is to perform a pre-feasibility study as to whether DE can be implemented into the West Campus Development (WCD), and how that implementation ought to be performed. The first chapter of this report describes the research intent, DE and combined heat and power as technologies, as well as the WCD concept, and the basis for most of this report’s data; the University of Calgary’s central plant and DE network. The central chapters (2, 3, & 4) of this report outline the benefits of DE pertaining to energy, the environment, and economics respectively, with each chapter concluding with WCD case-specific benefits. The final chapters offer recommendations and a conclusion for the case. Most of the report uses data and implementation concepts obtained from leading DE systems in both Canada and the United-States. Additionally, hard data comes from the University of Calgary’s own central plant. Currently known load profiles, natural gas usage and electricity consumption values were applied to specific land use types in WCD. The highest density development within the WCD, known as the ‘density hub’, is the focus of the DE network implementation.Item Embargo 2011-2012 University Of Calgary Scope 3 Ghg Inventory(2013) Lee, DavidThis research project conducts a Scope 3 GHG Inventory for the University of Calgary for the operating year 2011-12 using the World Resources Institute (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard in order to identify the Scope 3 GHG footprint from university operations. Emissions from Scope 3 sources are important because they can make up to 75 percent of the total GHG footprint for an organization. Scope 3 is a relatively emerging category of emissions, and currently there is only a small amount of literature and guidance available. The previous inventory conducted in 2008-09 relied heavily on the Clean-Air Cool-Planet carbon calculator and generic calculation tools; however, this year’s inventory attempted to use emissions factors and data that provided a more accurate representation of the operating environment for the University of Calgary. This inventory shows a 45 percent increase from the last inventory with the largest source of emissions coming from student and staff commuting. In addition to calculating Scope 3 emissions for the University of Calgary, the report identifies some of the challenges in applying this type of reporting standard to a higher educational institution and recommends improvements required to continue to advance the quality and accuracy of Scope 3 reporting for the university in the future. This report finds that improvements in data quality and collection, development of improved reporting standards as well as emission factors and methodology that represent the local operating environment of the university will improve reporting in the future.Item Embargo Harmonizing Energy Supply And Demand Through Energy Storage Mechanisms A Feasibility Study For The University Of Calgary(2010) Gowland, DavidToday’s energy thirsty society relies heavily upon the energy supply and infrastructure that has evolved over the course of many decades. During this time electricity has emerged as a favoured medium to deliver energy to a wide variety of uses. Energy in electric form is easily transportable and efficiently converted into other forms of energy such as mechanical, light, and heat energy. However, electric energy is by its very nature a perishable good. Once generated it must be consumed or else it goes to waste. Compounding this issue is society’s variable energy demand pattern which causes periods of peak and off-peak demand during the day and night respectively. These peaks force energy producers to have available capacity to satisfy the peak demand level even though it lasts for only a few hours each day. This inefficient system requires a generation capacity that is significantly higher than the average demand level. Together, the perishable nature of electricity and our variable consumption pattern, present a overwhelming challenge to energy providers and system operators. However, through the employment of energy storage mechanisms system operators can effectively store electricity produced in off-peak periods to be use in peak periods. This practice, sometimes referred to as time-shifting or demand-shifting, can have a measured impact in balancing the energy demand pattern to reduce peak consumption levels. At the same time, energy storage systems make better use of base-load electricity generation resources like nuclear and hydro-electric plants which must operate at a consistent rate. This paper examines the issues mentioned above in detail and explores the various energy storage mechanisms available as solutions. Each mechanism is discussed and evaluated based on its; storage efficiency, storage capacity, cost, environmental impact, and adaptability. Later, a case study is presented to explore the implementation of energy storage systems to improve energy use. The University of Calgary was selected as a hypothetical field trial for this case study, in which a battery storage system is proposed as the most suitable means of energy storage based on the metrics listed above in relation to the energy demands of the University. Finally, the results of the case study are extrapolated to ponder energy storage implementation on a larger scale.Item Open Access Beehabilitation on Spaceship Earth(2018-09-07) McLernon, Dylan; Eiserman, Jennifer; Leblanc, Jean-René; Hardy, Michele“Spaceship Earth” is an enclosed ecosystem where the survival of all crew members depends on our ability to coexist (Ward). Currently, important life support systems on Spaceship Earth are malfunctioning due to human neglect. One result of this malfunction is the rapid decline of fellow crew members such as bees. Humans rely on bees to help pollinate over one-third of our food supply. Thus, our survival is inevitably linked to bee health. With all crew members of Spaceship Earth in mind: What could an ecological space look like where human beings live harmoniously and productively with bees? Beehabilitation on Spaceship Earth is an eco-art initiative that is focused on engaging citizens as actors towards the study and ecology of Calgary’s urban bumblebee populations. In a collaborative effort with Dr. Ralph Cartar from the department of Bioscience, small ceramic sculptures called Bumblebee Domiciles have been designed and field tested. As part of my graduate exhibit in the Nickle Galleries, Bumblebee Domiciles are being offered to the public for free. People who choose to take a Bumblebee Domicile are expected to take part in a community-based art project, to answer five questions about the sculptures functionality. Beehabilitation utilizes Research Creation as an overarching methodology, underpinned by Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Relational Aesthetics. Supporting methods include observation, field testing, and collaboration. My research is contextualized within an eco-art philosophy to minimize negative impacts on the planet, while maximizing positive impacts for bees. Preliminary findings from Dr. Ralph Cartar’s field tests show a forty-percent occupancy rate in Tree Domiciles. The importance of native bee ecology on Spaceship Earth cannot be overstated. Beehabiltation will educate the public about urban bee populations and ways to create mutual spaces for humans and bees.Item Open Access Sustainable Building Advancements for Alberta(2018) Parassery Sadasivan, Agasthya; Nowicki, EdwinThe Alberta electricity sector comprises electricity generated primarily from non-renewable sources like coal and natural gas which have high GHG emissions. Coal power plants and natural gas power plants account for approximately 85 percent of the electriItem Open Access Techno-Economic Analysis for Integration of Hybrid Renewable Energy Resources in The Alberta Energy System(2018-04-27) Moosavian, Seyed Mahdi; Wood, David Howe; Hassanzadeh, Hassan; Nowicki, Edwin Peter; Budiman, Roes AriefUsing stand-alone hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) is sometimes more economical than extending the grid to electrify just a few households. However, over generation and over demand are two common issues in deploying renewable energy resources in a stand-alone system. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology for optimal design of HRES. University of Calgary Spy Hill Campus was chosen as case study to test this methodology and the optimum size for each generation components of HRES was determined. It was shown that the HRES with the determined size has the minimum total cost while it is able to fully cover the electrical demand of the campus. For the optimization purpose, a new optimization algorithm was introduced and its capability to find the optimum size of HRES was validated.Item Open Access PV Integration and Peak Load Shaving Using Energy Storage Feasibility Study(2017-12-19) Juha, Arafat Hamed; Knight, Andy; Nowiciki, Edwin; Pahlevani, MajidEnergy storage system (ESS) is a growing technology in distribution systems. ESS is used in different application such as peak load shaving, system upgrade deferrals, and improving renewable energy integration. A photovoltaic system (PV) is wildly used in the distribution system, and it has given good results in reducing the amount of consumed electrical power from the grid during the daytime. Yet still, it may cause some problems for the network. The intermittency problem because the generation of power is related to weather conditions, another issue is voltage fluctuation especially with high penetration of photovoltaic systems in the network. using energy storage device along with PV system to mitigate such problems. In this thesis an investigation of the impact of installing a photovoltaic system to the part of the University of Calgary distribution network. Utilizing a properly sized energy storage system with PV to manage peak load on the university campus.Item Open Access Reducing energy waste in post-secondary educational institutions using artificial intelligence(2012) Motta Cabrera, David Francisco; Zareipour, HamidrezaThis thesis focuses on computer-related and lighting energy consumption in post-secondary educational institutions. In this respect, artificial intelligence and data association mining are proposed as tools to identify and reduce energy waste. First, an artificial intelligencebased method for forecasting computer usage is proposed. Based on the models' forecast, workstations can be turned on and off, in order to strike a balance between energy savings and user comfort. The models are evaluated on different datasets and their results compared to commercially available alternatives. Second, a data association mining-based approach is proposed to uncover possible relationships between occupancy patterns and lighting-related energy waste in classrooms. A wireless data collection system is used to log data from both lighting consumption and occupancy states during a year. Next, energy savings results of using the proposed approach are compared to those of an occupancy-activated lighting control system for classrooms.Item Open Access Computational Modelling of the Wind Flow over the University of Calgary Campus(2015-09-04) Mohamed, Mohamed; Wood, DavidThis thesis investigates the issues pertaining to computational wind resource in the urban environment. The effect of trees on wind distortions above the roof of a 15-m high building was modelled via sink and source terms in the momentum, k and ɛ equations. The results from the simulations showed mean wind speed above the roof was not a monotonic function of ratio of tree-to-building height. Further, the trees reduced k over the roof via reduced production. Stagnating turbulent flows occur in an urban setting and the over-prediction of k with the standard k-ɛ turbulence model is ameliorated with a formulation of the eddy viscosity that eliminates the dependence of the production term on the components of the mean strain rate. The new turbulence model, MW, improved predictions for k over the roof of a simulated building. Its predictions for mean wind speed and k improved further with blending functions. The MW was tested on flows over a rough 2D ridge and a 3D hill and compared with the SST and k-ɛ . The MW showed good predictions for k relative to experiments at the crest of the 3D hill and also portrayed a feature that does not allow the flow to relax too quickly downstream of the 3D hill unlike the SST and k-ɛ. The behaviour of simple RANS models along a stagnation streamline of a normal at plate in a wind tunnel were compared with experiments. All models over-predicted k and the important terms in the k budget while large changes to k do not affect the mean velocities. The most accurate of the models was the ω-based Reynolds stress model. A simulation of the wind flow over the University of Calgary campus was undertaken to assess the likely regions for siting wind turbines and photovoltaic modules. The effect of the terrain and the many trees on the campus is shown to be significant for the wind resource over the roof of a six-storey building. The choice of turbulence models is not critical if the purpose of the simulations is to identify regions for further exploration via wind speed measurements.Item Open Access Communicating Sustainable Food: Connecting scientific information to consumer action(2014-07-03) Godfrey, David Matthew; Feng, Patrick Shiao TsongThis thesis investigates the consumer behaviour impact of communicating environmental impact data. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and communication techniques from the behaviour change literature, I developed a campaign to communicate the water footprint of entrées at a university dining hall. I collected sales and production data and administered attitude surveys before and after the campaign’s implementation. In addition, I conducted qualitative interviews to explore how individuals interpreted, understood, and used the science-based information communicated. Based on available data, the campaign failed to change food purchase decisions and, over the course of the experiment, students’ attitude scores actually grew less positive toward choosing foods with low water footprints. Interview results suggest that the campaign’s effectiveness was hindered by the overpowering nature of convenience and important food attributes such as flavour, as well as a disconnection between abstract water footprint data and students’ own definitions of environmental sustainability.Item Open Access Birds, Buildings and LEED Mitigation Design at the University of Calgary Campus(2014-05-05) Wood, Jessica Suzanne; Draper, DianneThis appears to be the first study at the University of Calgary to assess bird collisions with buildings. Through an exploratory approach the intention was to gain an understanding of birds colliding with buildings at the university. Bird collisions were documented at the University of Calgary during the 2013 spring and fall bird migration. Only five birds were found to collide with four building structures. The low sample size posed challenges in undertaking statistical analysis. This research contributes a new vegetation density matrix and additions to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Pilot Credit 55. The information in this study may be built upon in order to conduct confirmatory research that accurately determines the extent of bird-building collisions at the University of Calgary and will, in turn, contribute to conservation of resident and migratory bird populations.