August 25, 2008
News View Article
Pitt Launches Student Challenge to “Green” Old Buildings$5,000 cash prize to Southwestern Pennsylvania undergrads who design affordable energy-conserving method that pays for itself in one year
The University of Pittsburgh's Mascaro Center for Sustainable
Innovation will launch a cash-prize design challenge to undergraduate
students in Southwestern Pennsylvania to create a technique for
“greening” old buildings that carries a low-price tag and a quick
payoff, a significant issue in older cities such as Pittsburgh.
The
2008 Energy Efficient Building Technologies Challenge is intended to
hasten the public's interest in sustainability by diminishing the high
cost and sluggish return often associated with retrofitting older
structures with energy-saving features. Contestants must create a
product or system that reduces electricity consumption and would pay
for itself in subsequent savings within one year. Projects also will be
judged for originality, possibility of successful implementation, and
by the level to which they allow people to maintain their quality of
life.
The winning team receives $5,000; second-place receives
$2,500; and third-place, $1,000. All winners will be invited to present
their projects at the 2009 Pittsburgh Engineering Sustainability
conference hosted by the Mascaro Center. Teams of two-to-five students
from any university or college in Allegheny, Butler, Washington, and
Westmoreland counties are eligible to participate. Students are
encouraged to form multidisciplinary and cross-institutional teams.
Project concepts are due Oct. 17. Five finalists will be chosen Oct.
31, and each will receive a $2,500 grant for supplies, equipment,
travel, and other project expenses.
Buildings are one of the
United States' largest energy drains, accounting for 39 percent of the
nation's total consumption and claims 71 percent of spent electricity.
While new buildings often boast energy-saving features, older buildings
commonly hemorrhage energy because of poor insulation, old wiring, and
outdated lighting. To fix these shortcomings, property owners typically
pay contractors large sums for solutions with a long payback time. The
outfitting of older buildings with energy-conserving features is a
considerable issue in areas such as the Pittsburgh region, which hosts
many buildings and homes built prior to 1940.
The Mascaro
Center, housed in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, specializes in
sustainable-design research and innovation. Support for the design
challenge also comes from the Heinz Endowments. Complete rules and
deadlines are available on the Mascaro Center's Web site at
www.mascarocenter.pitt.edu.
