ISU Research to Practice Team selected to attend USGBC Greenbuild Conference in San Francisco

In the Fall of 2011, the US Green Building Council launched the Research to Practice Program, which aimed to bring together multi-disciplinary groups of university students to study topics in green building research. The unique spatial constraints of the expansive Iowa State campus lead the ISU team to study a range of potential low-cost building retrofits in 5 different scientific research buildings.

In Phase I of the research, the team proposed a number of small-scale interventions that would drastically reduce energy consumption, such as lowering air exchange rates on fume hoods, replacing light fixtures, and educating building occupants about green energy practices. When the USGBC invited ISU to participate in Phase II of the program, the group’s aim shifted towards making the Phase 1 conclusions more feasible. This was done through documenting research processes to develop user manuals in order to create accurate energy savings projections.

The study concluded with the ISU Facilities, Planning, and Management department adopting the lighting retrofit project with plans to execute the new lighting installation throughout campus buildings this next year. This summer the ISU team was selected as one of two finalists invited to attend the USGBC Greenbuild Conference in San Francisco in November 2012.