Today is the day! We invite everyone to participate switching off your light from 8:30 to 9:30pm to support Earth Hour. It is one of the world’s largest environmental movements, started by WWF and partners as a lights-out event in Sydney.
For the past 13 years, Earth Hour is held on the last Saturday of March, with involvement from more than 180 countries and territories switching off lights to save energy for our planet. Below is a picture in Wuhan during the Earth Hour 2020 from my friends.
Local time 9:30pm in Hankou, Wuhan 2020-03-28
Earth Hour goes beyond switching off and has taken various ways to raise awareness by challenging people to take collective action. Check the website, https://www.earthhour.org/take-part to learn more about what you can do to support environmental stewardship!
Stay tuned and take care in the midst of the global COVID-19 crisis, we will continue to share and thanks for reading 🙂
Last fall, the CECA U of T executive team wanted to improve our recruiting efforts for the 2020 Green Energy Challenge competition. We wanted to provide new student members with an opportunity to learn about what each subteam has to offer so that they can find where their interests fit into this competition. With that goal in mind, we held a series of interactive workshops for each of the four technical subteams in this competition: building energy performance, solar, project management, and lighting.
Building Energy Performance Workshop
The series started with the building energy performance workshop that introduced basic concepts of building science with a focus on the function of walls. We began by looking at heat, moisture, and air leakage as the main problem areas for a building that can lead to wasted energy, high energy costs, and discomfort for people inside. The students were then challenged to apply this knowledge to improve wall sections or to create their own given indoor and outdoor conditions. For these activities, we used our very own building science trading cards (some of which are shown below) to depict different materials in the walls and even got to borrow some real samples from our building science professors.
Overall, this workshop gave new students a fundamental understanding of building envelopes and got them familiar with strategies used to improve energy usage in a facility. This experience is quite useful now for these students as they work on designing building energy retrofits for the competition.
Solar Workshop
The series continued with the solar workshop, for which we collaborated with the University of Toronto Sustainability Office to organize a tour of the solar panel system at the University’s Exam Centre at 255 McCaul Street.
This solar panel system has been running since late 2016. It produces about 75,000 kWh a year, which is 7.5 times the energy need of a typical home in Toronto! The system is directly helping to offset the electricity needs of the facility everyday, with Toronto Hydro supplementing any extra needs (such as on cloudy days). The panels will continue to function for over 30 years, while the electrical equipment would need to be replaced in about a decade. This project is one of the many happening across the University of Toronto as the campus works hard to achieve its Low-Carbon Action Plan.
Paul Leitch from the University’s Sustainability Office gave us interesting details about how this solar panel system functions and how they address challenges on site.
It was fascinating to hear about how this system has such lasting benefits on the facility and on the campus as a whole. It also gave our solar team a clear idea of the different components of a real system and the importance of incorporating safety considerations into the system design to facilitate setup and maintenance. We really appreciate the University of Toronto’s Sustainability Office hosting this awesome tour!
Project Management Workshop
Next, we held the project management workshop, in which students were given a theoretical energy retrofits project and challenged to create a Gantt chart project schedule with a financing plan. It gave them hands-on experience with organizing tasks in a way that makes efficient use of available resources and got them more familiar with financing tools for such types of projects. This definitely prepared them to apply basic project management tools for the competition.
Lighting Workshop
The series ended with the lighting workshop, in which students did a short lighting audit in the University’s Goldcorp Mining Innovation Suite. The students collected and illustrated data on the intensity of lighting in this studio space using an app that provides lux readings. They were then introduced to how lighting in such a space would be modelled using Autodesk Revit, providing them with great insight into the overall work of this subteam.
Reflecting on the Workshops
All in all, the executive team was very pleased with this series of workshops. It allowed us to spread awareness of the Green Energy Challenge and of CECA U of T within different engineering disciplines as well as other programs, such as mathematics and architecture. With each interactive workshop, new members got a better idea of how they could contribute to the competition while exploring their passions and developing their skills. This allowed us to recruit a team of enthusiastic and committed new members for this year. We hope to continue building on these successful initiatives to give every new member a meaningful experience within our growing club.
The CECA U of T student chapter is a constantly shifting organization. Across our six years, we’ve had over 100 active general members and worked with tens of different organizations and contractors, across multiple competitions and events. We’ve all had a lot of time to reflect on our past as we sit inside all day, and we thought it would be a good idea to check up on where those previous members have gone.
We asked them two questions:
What was your favourite memory from your time in CECA U of T?
What’s a key takeaway or message you want to share with the current students?
Dmitri Naoumov
Current Position
Structural Engineer at WSP Group
Last Position in CECA
2016 Project Manager
Favourite Memory from CECA U of T
I really enjoyed the opportunity to fly out to Honduras. U of T partnered with Penn State University to do a solar installation for a rural community.
Key Takeaway
Find your passions early. Everyone can get decent grades – but not everyone has a passion. It doesn’t have to be engineering related either – just find something that you really enjoy!
One of the highlights of every year being a part of CECA is attending the NECA Conventions. I was lucky to be able to attend three conventions, 2014 in Chicago, 2015 in San Francisco, and 2016 in Boston, and it seemed like every year it got bigger and better. But I think the most memorable moment from my time in CECA was seeing our project with Good Shepherd Ministries come to fruition. Even though we didn’t place in the top 3 of the Green Energy Challenge that year, seeing our design actually get implemented, and seeing the joy and gratitude on everyone’s faces when we visited after construction was completed in 2017, sure felt like a win to me; it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire university career. Getting published in the Toronto Star was pretty cool too 😉
Key Takeaway
My advice to students would be to take advantage of all the extra-curricular activities at UofT, even if you don’t think it will be directly relevant to your career path. They will allow you to not only take a break from your homework, but you’ll end up meeting so many amazing people and creating so many amazing memories; you may be able to hone in on a particular hobby or passion you have, or you may find a new one. I’m a prime example of this when it comes to CECA; I’m not working in anything remotely related to building science or sustainable energy, but the experience I gained with CECA, among the other extra-curriculars I was a part of throughout university, was incredibly rewarding, and forms my most fond memories of my time at UofT.
Matheos and Ernesto in Chicago (2014)
2015 Green Energy Challenge Team in San Fransisco
Greg Peniuk
Current Position
Planner at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)
Last Position in CECA
2016 President
Favourite Memory from CECA U of T
My first energy audit for GEC was at Good Shepherd Ministries. After some very generous donations from the contractors’ associations, the lighting retrofit was actually implemented. It was amazing to go back there and see how much everything had changed.
Key Takeaway
Something CECA helped me learn: know your audience. In any kind of communication, be aware of your audience’s preconceptions, background knowledge, and priorities.
Greg (Center) at the 2017 GEC Audit, with Nataliya Pekar on the right and Patrick Minardi on the left.
Ernesto Diaz Lozano Patiño
Current Position
WSP Canada
Last Position in CECA
2016 Secretary
Favourite Memory from CECA U of T
The first NECA conference was amazing. I saw the potential for the club there, seeing the awesome stuff other groups were doing. Every conference afterwards was fantastic as well.
The Mexico City trip (January 2019, for the Student Passport 2017 competition) was wonderful. So rewarding to see our work pay off.
Key Takeaway
CECA is a place to explore opportunities. There are plenty ways the club can grow to help people achieve their goals and advance their career options.
Ernesto (Far Left) talking with residents in Xalostoc, Mexico, on our last visit after the implementation of our 2017 Student Passport project.
Syed Imam
Current Position
Associate Transportation Engineer at Parsons Canada (With Matheos Tsiaras)
Last Position in CECA
2018 Treasurer
Favourite Memory from CECA U of T
The time spent during the submission for the Green Energy Challenge was one of my favorites – seeing the entire team collaboratively sitting together at the same time working towards the submission was packed with strong displays of collaboration, teamwork, adrenaline, and learning.
Key Takeaway
Set high personal standards for yourself and explore something new that you traditionally would avoid, whether it be through a club, a course, or an event, even if you are determined to pursue a specific direction for your degree. You’ll be surprised as to how many options there are for you, what you can learn, and who you’ll meet when you decide to try something new.
2018 GEC team
Nataliya Pekar
Current Position
Alta Planning + Design
Last Position in CECA
Solar Team Lead
Favourite Memory from CECA U of T
Evaluating the roof of the Waterfront Neighborhood Center was an awesome experience! We’ve got pictures on the roof during the energy audit. Of course, the conference was incredibly fun! A great memory was presenting as a team, feeling very proud and also relieved to have it done, and then getting to go to a big party at the Pop Culture Museum. All of the fantastic seafood in Seattle was also a big plus.
Key Takeaway
Pursue what you like to do and what ultimately makes you feel good at the end of the day, whatever that may be. No amount of prestige or money will make up for the compromises along the way. That’s what I tell myself anyway, I’m not nearly old and wise enough to be living proof quite yet!
Nataliya on the roof of the Waterfront Neighbourhood Center
We’re going to throw it all the way back to September 2019, when the CECA team attended the NECA Convention in Las Vegas. The U of T CECA team was the top finalist, along with the teams from Iowa State University and Illinois Institute of Technology, in the ELECTRI International/NECA Green Energy Challenge and we presented our final proposal at the conference in front of a panel of judges, industry professionals, and other students from across the United States.
What we presented
Our proposal for reducing energy usage and implementing retrofits for Armour Heights Presbyterian Church in Toronto placed first in the first round of the Green Energy Challenge, so we were invited to Las Vegas to present our findings at the NECA Convention. Our proposal included retrofits to building energy performance such as the boiler and the walls/windows, lighting such as LED replacements, and implementing solar panels to achieve the goal of Net Zero! We had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with the children’s programs, play lots of fun and educational games, and teach them about recycling and saving energy.
How we prepared
As soon as we heard we made it to the final round, we immediately started preparing our presentation. We had regular meetings throughout the summer to prepare the presentation, practice, and plan. We wanted the presentation to be interesting, professional, attention grabbing, and not contain too much text or technical information. We did a practice presentation for our faculty advisor and her team of graduate students in order to receive constructive feedback and be well-prepared. Then we were off!
We arrived in Vegas on Friday September 13 and immediately had a student dinner and social where we met all the other students attending the conference, including Iowa State and Illinois. We enjoyed some food, learned to play golf, and had a blast. It was a nice break and a chance to forget the stress of the presentation, which was on Saturday. The team was very excited but also nervous to present in front of the judges and a packed house at one of the presentation rooms at Mandalay Bay Resort, but we were ready, well practiced, and we presented our slideshow without a glitch!
I am so proud to say that for the first time, the CECA Student Team placed 2nd in Electri Green Energy Challenge 2019!
Left to right: Nicola Liu, Noah Cassidy, Jacqueline Lu, Dorothy Liu, Pavani Perera, Niloufar Ghaffari
Iowa State University was announced as the 1st place team and the U of T CECA team was given their 2nd place award!
The people we met and things we learned
Being the only Canadian team, we got to talk to so many people and share our experiences. The first night we arrived, we bonded with other students and spent time with them for the rest of the trip! We attended the opening ceremonies of the convention held at Mandalay Bay, which was epic! There was a stage set up in the middle of the pool and people mingling and connecting. We also got to attend some of the sessions, such as one about smart cities and another about women and diversity in the workforce, which was absolutely inspiring. At another session, our team got the chance to talk about how we joined CECA, what our experience had been, and the challenges we faced in terms of diversity and gender in the construction field. The convention ended with an absolutely incredible performance by Cirque du Soleil and their tribute to Michael Jackson show.
The convention opening ceremonies held at Mandalay Bay Resort
Our appreciation
All in all, the NECA Convention and Green Energy Challenge was an unforgettable experience. The CECA team appreciates all the support we received from our faculty advisor, sponsors, everyone we met, and the professional connections we made. We look forward to this year’s competition and hopefully we make it to the finals, fingers crossed!
Welcome back everyone! As we wrote in our previous blog, for this year’s Green Energy Challenge (GEC) competition, we are working with Orde Street Junior Public School in downtown Toronto to create a proposal with net-zero energy retrofits as well as volunteer our time to give back to their community.
What is an Energy Audit?
An energy audit is done at a facility to analyze the flow of energy and find opportunities to reduce energy input without reducing the facility’s ability to meet energy demands. It gives insight into how the building can save energy and be more energy efficient, which saves a lot of utility costs and environmental damage.
Orde Street Junior Public School kindly hosted us for our energy audit last month. Our team split up into small groups and gathered information on lighting, solar, building envelope, plug loads, and HVAC systems from the three floors of the school.
Lighting
Our lighting team inspected natural and artificial lighting in each room, hallway, and staircase of the school. Some of the data they were interested in was different lighting types, wattage, and the lighting layout. Also, lux readings were taken using a cell phone app to figure out lighting luminance at different distances from light sources. With this information, the team can calculate how intense lighting in each area is and figure out possible ways to save energy, improve efficiency, and enhance the user experience.
Solar
With the help of the facilities managers at the school, the solar team was able to get access to the structural blueprints of the roof. We could not do site visits to the roof, but these drawings are helpful in assessing the solar potential of the school and designing a roof mounted solar PV system.
Building Energy
Our building energy team noted different types of windows and doors in each room and if they sensed any heat leakage. Additionally, the model number and energy consumption of the air conditioners in each room were noted, which would help us to come up with innovative ways to cool the building. To gather plug loads data, the team recorded the energy consumption and user habits for any devices or equipment that use electricity. We are working with the school to get information on the mechanical system, since we cannot go inside due to safety reasons. With the mechanical systems, we would be interested in thermal efficiency, standby losses, recovery rates, floor ventilation systems, and the functioning of the radiators.
Looking Ahead
Since the energy audit, our team has been busy analyzing the gathered data to design improvements to decrease the energy consumption in the building. These improvements can range from efficient lighting and appliances to better insulation that reduces heating demand. In addition, we will design a solar PV system that will generate enough energy to offset the consumption by the building through the years. In the meantime, our community engagement team is coordinating with Orde Street Junior Public School to create a campaign focused on sustainable buildings and healthy living. Stay tuned for future blogs on the GEC!
CECA U of T is gearing up for our sixth round of theELECTRI International/NECA Green Energy Challenge (GEC)! This year, we are excited to build on our second place finish from the 2019 GEC with new team members and a new client.
For GEC, we compete with universities from across the US by creating a proposal on energy conservation and efficiency for a local community facility. It involves analyzing their energy consumption, designing retrofits that can realistically be implemented, and integrating an energy efficiency program that aligns with the public services at the facility. Through GEC, our students gain practical knowledge of sustainable buildings and strengthen their skills in leadership, communication, and team collaboration.
Why is Building Energy Important?
Buildings use a significant amount of energy throughout their life cycles, and they contribute to 45% of greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto. Also, we spend a majority of our day in them. With that said, it is quite important to reduce building energy usage in order to save energy costs, reduce environmental impacts, and make the indoor environment comfortable for occupants. For new buildings, energy efficiency measures can be implemented from the planning stages. For older buildings, retrofits must be done in order to gain these benefits, which is what the focus of the GEC is.
You can learn more about building energy at these links:
For the 2020 GEC, we will be working with Orde Street Junior Public School. Located in downtown Toronto right beside our U of T campus, Orde is a kindergarten through grade 8 school with about 500 students. This facility was built back in 1914 to support the growing diverse community in Toronto. Today, it is proud to welcome students from more than 30 countries and offer additional community services, such as daycare and international language classes on Saturdays. The school is also committed to providing a learning experience that integrates technology into traditional teaching methods, such as through their Learning Commons in the library. We are excited to get this opportunity to work with them to find out ways the school can become more energy efficient and teach their students more about the importance of building energy.
Next Steps
Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts about our GEC project, starting with the energy audit at Orde Street Junior Public School and our volunteering efforts, as well as other team events we are holding!
Welcome to our first post on our new website! We, at CECA U of T, were excited to host our 3rd annual Sustainable Building Design Case Competition this past week. Through this competition, we challenge student teams to prepare and present a short proposal to a panel of judges on how a community service facility in Toronto can save energy.
For our case competition, we were joined by industry judges as well as faculty to analyze the proposals of our Civil Engineering student participants.
We chose the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre (CRWC) in downtown Toronto as the client facility. CRWC supports refugee families arriving in Canada with meals, lodging, activities, and programs as they transition into their new lives. Our team has worked with CRWC for the 2018 ELECTRI International/NECA Green Energy Challenge, in which we created a proposal over an entire semester on net zero energy retrofits. You can check that out here.
For the students participating in the case competition this year, we provided information on energy use, lighting, plug loads, and HVAC from CRWC. Throughout the week, participants were hard at work creating innovative solutions to reduce 60% of CRWC’s energy use, along with strategies on spreading awareness of energy efficient buildings.
The participants included Jiating (Chelsa) Lou (Civil Engineering, 2nd year); Ziyi (Jason) Wang (Civil Engineering, 2nd year); Paul Go (Civil Engineering, 4th year); and Bo Zhao (Civil Engineering, 1st year). They did an incredible job of going beyond the provided resources with research of their own to come up with creative solutions. Some of these included a heat recovery ventilator, smart power strips with digital timers, and electric furnaces. They also integrated community engagement strategies into their technical solutions, which included collaboration through various social media platforms and interactive children’s games, to promote the value of these retrofits.
The case competition participants from U of T Civil Engineering included from L to R: Bo Zhao, Paul Go, Ziyi (Jason) Wang, and Jiating (Chelsa) Lou.
The panel of judges included U of T Professor Brenda McCabe (faculty advisor); U of T Professor Ian Sinclair; Greg Peniuk (IESO, also CECA U of T alumni); and Gregg Whitty (CECA). They gave the participants constructive feedback on improving their analysis of building energy retrofits and presentation skills. Also, they emphasized the importance of educating end users on how these buildings function.
The teams presented their proposals on innovative ways in which CRWC can reduce 60% of its energy use to a panel of judges.
Congratulations to all the participants! We were quite impressed with the quality of your proposals, and we can’t wait to see what you achieve through future competitions. It’s awesome to see how stimulating challenges like this open up new doors for you to explore your passions.
Also, we’d like to thank the judges for dedicating their time to join us. Through the continuous support of our faculty, alumni, and industry partners, we get opportunities like this to learn more about the contracting and building energy industry, expand our networks, and develop as young professionals. This experience will no doubt be invaluable when we begin our careers outside of university.
With the Sustainable Building Design Case Competition wrapped up, our team is looking ahead to the 2020 ELECTRI International/NECA Green Energy Challenge. We are planning to partner with a school in the Toronto District School Board for this year’s net zero energy retrofit proposal, and we are determined to improve on our second place finish from last year with new members on board! Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs on the Green Energy Challenge journey and our new team initiatives.
