GRIN PROJECT

    

Overview:

The Green It Now project (GRIN) at ESW-NU aims to audit small buildings on the Northwestern campus, provide recommendations for improvements, and help to get the recommendations implemented.

Currently, the GRIN auditing group has been busy selecting and training the new auditing team. We have also been looking at locations for our next on-campus audit, and we will be selecting a building shortly. The group has been receiving several offers for off-campus audits and we are looking into whether we have the resources available to perform them.

Additionally, the Ford Solar Panel project is taking off. We are in the process of fundraising and we recently submitted our state grant, along with several other smaller grants. The system design has begun and permits are being acquired.

Project Definition:

GRIN aims to:

1. Help increase sustainability of Northwestern buildings.
- Conduct energy audits on Northwestern buildings.
- Provide recommendations for improvements.
- Help get recommendations implemented.

2. Educate team members and the Northwestern community about the importance of sustainability of buildings.
- Conduct projects on student dorms to increase awareness among students.
- Give presentations highlighting our projects and the importance of sustainability of buildings

Background:

Northwestern is conducting energy audits on several university buildings on campus. Audits of bigger buildings usually result in bigger paybacks. For instance, a 20% energy savings on a bigger building that uses a lot of energy will be higher than a 20% energy savings on a smaller building that uses less energy. This strategy makes sense. But because of this, a significant portion of campus buildings is not being audited.

Project Timeline:

3/30/2009 – 7/01/2010

More Information:

Go to GRIN's official website.

Meeting Times:

TBD, if you are interested in this project please contact Phil Dziedzic or Ren Chung (RC) Yu.

Contact:

Phil Dziedzic
Phone: 847.345.8686
E-mail: phillipdziedzic2007@u.northwestern.edu

Ren Chung (RC) Yu
Phone: 847.757.4925
E-mail: rc@u.northwestern.edu