Energy Efficient Housing

Introduction

This project began as a proposed replacement of University Park, a family housing complex that is just under a quarter mile from campus. The concept was to design a housing complex for families, which would use significantly less energy than the current University Park by utilizing energy efficient technologies. When this senior project began, another project was just building steam here on campus, the Green Loan Fund (GLF). The GLF is a fund that borrows capital to invest in projects which use green technologies while replacing existing infrastructure. These projects, by using less energy are therefore saving money and are able to payback the borrowed capital. The GLF, as appealing as it was to orient a senior project around was still pending approval, therefore it was felt to be a wise decision to create a senior project which was independent from the GLF's approval. The Green Loan Fund has now been approved and is undertaking its first projects. The original objective of this senior project has now changed to the current objective shown here on this page.

There are many new technologies available which stand to save on economical costs as well as minimize The University’s ecological footprint, we have already come across many of them through the research done in the first semester.

Objective

The objective of this project is to design, in detail, an energy efficient housing complex utilizing all feasible technologies. Our goal is to bring together all of the best technologies in the field into one building. Our final report will have detailed plans ready for implementation or modification. A large portion of our final report will be explained in an interactive website. The website will consist of all relevant plans, drawings, explanations, and 3-D renderings.

Through the process of designing this housing complex, we will undoubtedly come accross ideas that will fit the goals of the Green Loan Fund. Our secondary objective, is to outline at least 3 projects that fit the criteria of the GLF, which senior mechanical engineering students can undertake and implement next year. One technology, that we have already come accross has been efficient lighting, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LED's). The first project of the Green Loan Fund, unbenounced to us until recently, is to replace all incondescent light bulbs in the EXIT signs with LED's. This is only one example of the congruency that this senior project has with the GLF.

Long Term Goals

Our goals have now stretched to encompass the Green Loan Fund into senior projects as a way to start thinking about what type of projects should be outlined and selected by the Mechanical Engineering students. By selecting the types of projects that fit the needs of the green loan fund students are serving their community in more ways than one. The first being, they are saving the University, which has provided them with an education, money. The money that the University will save as a result of their efforts will not just be a one time lump sum, but a savings that will be evergrowing as the cost of energy rises. These students will be saving money because they are saving energy, and when energy is saved, the environment is proportionatelly saved. By saving the University money and by contributing to the reduction of the University's ecological footprint students will help to ensure that everything that they have gained by studying here will be here for others to gain for many years to come.

Our primary goal is not so much to replace any buildings, but rather to use Univesity owned and operated buildings as a case study to acquire all relevant information required to design a housing complex that can adequately suit the needs of several groups of occupants, with various life styles. All research and construction plans that result from this project are going to be available to all persons interested in energy efficient building design. As our society evolves it is important that it moves in a direction that is sustainable, not self-destructive. Our hope is that this project will serve as a medium to educate the University of Maine community about sustainable living practices. In order for this field to expand it takes time and investment. We view this project as an investment by the University of Maine for the future of all Maine people.

Maine has the principle natural resource required for the construction of sustainable housing: wood. The University of Maine has been a long time supporter of Maine’s lumber industry through research in paper products, with companies such as Georgia Pacific; as well as cutting edge technologies being developed in the ever expanding Advanced Engineering Wood Composite Center (AEWC). Lumber is naturally available, in Maine, and is replaceable in a much shorter time as compared with other building materials such as metal, or plastics, which have a resource life cycle based on geological time. Plastic and metal building materials also have a higher dependency on fossil fuels for manufacturing, making them drastically less sustainable than wood construction products. Thus Maine is poised to take the lead in sustainable home construction practices.

By investing time and research into demonstrating all available technology this project will pave the way for future sustainable housing construction in the state of Maine. Investing in sustainable technologies will not only be beneficial to the state’s environment, but also to its economy, at a time when it is needed.

	Introduction This project began as a proposed replacement of University Park, a family housing complex that is just under a quarter mile from campus. The concept was to design a housing complex for families, which would use significantly less energy than the current University Park by utilizing energy efficient technologies. When this senior project began, another project was just building steam here on campus, the Green Loan Fund (GLF). The GLF is a fund that borrows capital to invest in projects which use green technologies while replacing existing infrastructure. These projects, by using less energy are therefore saving money and are able to payback the borrowed capital. The GLF, as appealing as it was to orient a senior project around was still pending approval, therefore it was felt to be a wise decision to create a senior project which was independent from the GLF's approval. The Green Loan Fund has now been approved and is undertaking its first projects. The original objective of this senior project has now changed to the current objective shown here on this page. There are many new technologies available which stand to save on economical costs as well as minimize The University’s ecological footprint, we have already come across many of them through the research done in the first semester. Objective The objective of this project is to design, in detail, an energy efficient housing complex utilizing all feasible technologies. Our goal is to bring together all of the best technologies in the field into one building. Our final report will have detailed plans ready for implementation or modification. A large portion of our final report will be explained in an interactive website. The website will consist of all relevant plans, drawings, explanations, and 3-D renderings. Through the process of designing this housing complex, we will undoubtedly come accross ideas that will fit the goals of the Green Loan Fund. Our secondary objective, is to outline at least 3 projects that fit the criteria of the GLF, which senior mechanical engineering students can undertake and implement next year. One technology, that we have already come accross has been efficient lighting, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LED's). The first project of the Green Loan Fund, unbenounced to us until recently, is to replace all incondescent light bulbs in the EXIT signs with LED's. This is only one example of the congruency that this senior project has with the GLF. Long Term Goals Our goals have now stretched to encompass the Green Loan Fund into senior projects as a way to start thinking about what type of projects should be outlined and selected by the Mechanical Engineering students. By selecting the types of projects that fit the needs of the green loan fund students are serving their community in more ways than one. The first being, they are saving the University, which has provided them with an education, money. The money that the University will save as a result of their efforts will not just be a one time lump sum, but a savings that will be evergrowing as the cost of energy rises. These students will be saving money because they are saving energy, and when energy is saved, the environment is proportionatelly saved. By saving the University money and by contributing to the reduction of the University's ecological footprint students will help to ensure that everything that they have gained by studying here will be here for others to gain for many years to come. Our primary goal is not so much to replace any buildings, but rather to use Univesity owned and operated buildings as a case study to acquire all relevant information required to design a housing complex that can adequately suit the needs of several groups of occupants, with various life styles. All research and construction plans that result from this project are going to be available to all persons interested in energy efficient building design. As our society evolves it is important that it moves in a direction that is sustainable, not self-destructive. Our hope is that this project will serve as a medium to educate the University of Maine community about sustainable living practices. In order for this field to expand it takes time and investment. We view this project as an investment by the University of Maine for the future of all Maine people. Maine has the principle natural resource required for the construction of sustainable housing: wood. The University of Maine has been a long time supporter of Maine’s lumber industry through research in paper products, with companies such as Georgia Pacific; as well as cutting edge technologies being developed in the ever expanding Advanced Engineering Wood Composite Center (AEWC). Lumber is naturally available, in Maine, and is replaceable in a much shorter time as compared with other building materials such as metal, or plastics, which have a resource life cycle based on geological time. Plastic and metal building materials also have a higher dependency on fossil fuels for manufacturing, making them drastically less sustainable than wood construction products. Thus Maine is poised to take the lead in sustainable home construction practices. By investing time and research into demonstrating all available technology this project will pave the way for future sustainable housing construction in the state of Maine. Investing in sustainable technologies will not only be beneficial to the state’s environment, but also to its economy, at a time when it is needed.