Theme: Energy Efficiency & Conservation

These projects focus on reducing energy usage, providing novel solutions to campus energy usage, or otherwise help us to move to cleaner power sources. 

Retrofitting the RSF into a Human Powered Gym

Project Description

Retrofit a stationary bike and 28 ellipticals at the RSF to derive power from human use.

Project Links

Project Application

Project Poster

Wurster Hall Sub-Metering

Project Description

Install energy sub-meters in five floors of Wurster Hall to help achieve LEED-EBOM.

Project Links

Project Application

Air Handling Unit Transmitters

Project Description

Pilot program to install differential pressure transmitters on air handling units in eight buildings on campus.

Project Links

Project Application

Project Poster

Cal Greeks Energy Competition- Green Cup

Project Description

Use an energy competition as a way to implement small scale retrofits, reinforce sustainable behavior, and gain visibility for sustainable practices within the Greek system.

Project Links

Project Application

Project Poster

GIF Haas Rechargeable Battery program

Project Description

In an effort to continuously make significant strides towards true zero waste and in line with the university’s “Non-Essential Single Use Plastic Elimination by 2030 Policy”, Haas would like to implement a rechargeable battery program that would be available to all Haas students, staff and faculty. The impact of eliminating single use batteries and plastic packaging from the waste stream would make a huge impact not only on Haas’ carbon footprint, but on the university as a whole.

Project Links

...

Biofuel Technologies Club: Algae Solar Panel Project

Project Description

The Biofuels Technology Club (BTC) is a College of Chemistry club, whose committed mission is to achieve a zero-waste campus. By making biodiesel from waste cooking oil in the campus dining halls, the club has the goal of eventually powering campus fleets. Though CalDining continues to provide an excellent source of oil for feedstock, we have launched an experimental team to look into other potential sources if increased scale is needed. One key area of exploration is microalgae; as it produces lipid content, accumulates in biomass rapidly, and requires low-...

Inclusive Excellence Hub Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative

Office of Graduate Diversity seeks to create a sustainable, healthy, and equitable space for underrepresented students on campus. The Inclusive Excellence Hub recently opened, and serves as a community space for climate and diverstiy justice programming on Channing Way. They are seeking funds to make the building and outdoor hub space more sustainable through energy efficiency building improvements, the creation of an outdoor green space, and the creation of environmental justice programming to be implemented by their Diversity and Community fellows

High-Output Parallel Biodiesel Processing System (HOPBPS)

The Biofuels Technology Club (BTC) at UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry has a clear mission: to achieve a zero-waste campus by producing biodiesel from campus dining hall waste cooking oil. Since its founding in 2015, the club has successfully produced over 500 gallons of high-quality biodiesel, which has been tested extensively in the lab and for 12,000 miles in a car. The club's ultimate goal is to power the UC Berkeley campus fleets, closing an important loop within the school's consumption and waste streams. However, the club's current processing setup has limited capacity, preventing it from producing the significant quantities of biodiesel needed to achieve its goal.

SMART for Campus Construction

Project Description

The SMART (Sustainable Monitoring with Advanced Remote Techniques for Campus Construction) project is dedicated to addressing environmental challenges resulting from intensive construction on the Berkeley campus. Through the utilization of cutting-edge additive manufacturing and intelligent sensing techniques, the project aims to markedly mitigate issues like dust pollution and noise impact, empowering the construction team with effective management and mitigation strategies. This initiative will ultimately advance sustainability efforts on campus by developing a...

The Role of the Underground to Realize a Zero-Carbon UC Campus Energy System

Project Description

The overall goal of this project is to determine whether geothermal is a viable decarbonization energy solution for UC Berkeley and to engage graduate and undergraduate students in the research and the subsequent decision-making and the real application of this technology on campus if it proves feasible. The project will assess the role of the UC campus underground to meet the zero-carbon target.

Project Links

Project...