Office of Sustainability

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Issues in barrier-free design: a case study of accessibility for the physically disabled at the University of Calgary
(1978) Finger, Gerald Jay; Waugh, James P. M.
This document summarizes the results of a study of accessibility for the physically disabled at the University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, focussing primarily on the needs of wheelchair users, while considering the needs of other disabled persons as well. A review of the literature on designing for the disabled, a survey of campus facilities, and interviews with disabled persons were used to identify barriers to facility use by the disabled. Interviews, a review of the literature, and field trips to the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois) and Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) provided the basis for proposed problem solutions. The study indicated that although the climate-controlled enclosed building complexes at the university benefitted persons in wheelchairs in terms of protection from the climate, they created other problems insofar as elevators and accessible facilities such as washrooms and lowered telephones (available on a limited basis) were not easily located. It was determined that persons in wheelchairs would have difficulty in moving throughout the campus without the assistance of others, particularly in gaining entry to facilities such as the university library, bookstore, and health and counselling services. The probability of success of any programme of accessibility modifications on the campus was found to be dependent upon a variety of policy decisions by the provincial government and the university administration. An introductory section discusses the nature of barrier-free design and its significance, physical disabilities and their design implications, reasons why barriers exist, psychological factors in barrier-free design, and an emerging attitude which views handicaps as a function of environmental design rather than one of limitations of disabled persons. An extensive list of recent sources of information on barrier-free design is also included.
Open Access
Composting yard and food waste at the University of Calgary: an action plan
(1991) Burnett, K. H. Margaretha; Ross, Grant A.
The purpose of this MOP was to develop a composting program for the yard and kitchen waste generated at The University of Calgary. Recycling has begun to play a larger role in the functioning of the University in general, through paper and pop can collection programs; composting .was seen as a logical next step. Composting complements recycling programs by returning organic matter to the soil where it is reused in the synthesis of new plants for food, feed, clothing, and energy production. It is one of the oldest ways of soil improvement, and one requiring only enthusiasm and low .. levels of technology to produce noticeable improvements in plant growth. A comprehensive discussion of composting processes and systems precedes detailed project descriptions. There are three interactive projects which are designed. to build upon one another, though they can be implemented singly as well. Project Windrow involves waste generated by Grounds staff, food waste from Food Services, and food waste from Family Student Housing units. This waste is collected and processed into compost in a windrow. Project Worm involves waste generated by Family Student Housing gardeners in their garqen plot. This waste is added to a specially-constructed worm bin where vermicomposting occurs over the summer. Project Edu-Compost addresses the larger problem of explaining and promoting the composting process to u•niversity staff, students and faculty.
Open Access
The enhancement of community and quality of life in a student residence: A case study and outline management plan for the university of Calgary residence complex
(1999) Lopez Cesena, Alfonso; Harper, Thomas L.
Open Access
Indoor air quality: Office health, saftey and well-being
(1998) Ha, Mona M.; Lee, Tang G.
Open Access
Energy conservation and human behaviours: the professional faculties building in the University of Calgary
(1997) Wong, Sheila S. M.; Ross, William A.
Open Access
Introduction of environmental auditing as an environmental management tool for the University of Calgary
(1994) van Bakel, Serena; Thompson, Dixon A. R.
Open Access
Creating a hybrid landscape: the re-design of Bamfield Marine Station
(2002) De Jong, Jeffrey; Brown, John L.
Open Access
Environmental Policy, indicators, and reporting: the University of Calgary experience
(2001) Adair, Leah N.; Herremans, Irene
Open Access
Cogeneration in a deregulated environment
(2001) Sporea, Serban Iosif; Rao, Nutakki D.
Open Access
Recycling of construction waste
(2004) Prado Verduga, Bolivar Fernando; Hettiaratchi, J. Patrick A.
The continuous increase in the generation of construction waste combined with limited landfill capacity is a growing concern for planners, municipalities, governments, and environmental institutions. Although construction waste is comprised of materials that can be recycled or reused such as wood, metal, drywall, rubble, concrete, cardboard, plastics, etc., they are generally disposed of at landfills. The construction waste is usually heavy and bulky; and therefore it occupies more space, taking longer time to decompose. The load of waste that goes to landfills from construction sites can be reduced if proper construction waste minimization and best practices are applied on-site. This thesis discusses the implementation of a waste management strategy during the construction of a new building. It also presents a critical analysis on the importance of assessing the potential for construction waste minimization and recycling. The data obtained during the construction of a four-story research facility with a floor area of 6,420m2 was analyzed based on activities being performed according to the construction schedule. However, the data analysis was complicated due to the different sources of waste generation, parallel activities taking place on the construction site, and variables such as labour productivity, small project variations, rework, etc. The methodology used to identify and quantify the daily and weekly waste generation from different activities is discussed in detail. Then, a statistical analysis is carried out to generate a probabilistic model to predict the waste generation based on the construction activity schedule. The findings from this research show that a properly designed construction w aste management scheme can reduce the burden on landfills. A brief cost-benefit analysis shows that the constructors can achieve economical benefits by having a waste management plan on-site, while at the same time enhancing environmental protection through the reduction of solid waste disposal.
Open Access
Demand Controlled Ventilation: Use in Calgary and Impact of Sensor Location
(2012-09-06) Lachapelle, Annie-Claude; Love, James A.
Demand controlled ventilation (DCV) is used to reduce the amount of energy required to condition outdoor air introduced into a building based by monitoring occupancy. This thesis reports the hours DCV is used in an existing building in Calgary. Results showed DCV was used approximately 20% of annual fan operating hours when paired with an air-side economizer and just over 60% when a heat recovery wheel was part of the system. A Simulink model was built to compare the performance of two currently used DCV approaches based on carbon dioxide readings (CO2-DCV). The model showed positioning a sensor in the supply air duct (SACO2-DCV) to serve multiple zones of a re-circulating system maintained lower CO2 levels when occupancy varied between rooms than if the sensor were in the return-air duct (RACO2-DCV). The model showed these lower CO2 levels were due to SACO2-DCV over-ventilating spaces relative to typical requirements.
Open Access
A Case Study on the University of Calgary EEEL Building Large Diameter Earth Tube System
(2012-12-20) Tan, Li Li; Love, Jim
Building heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems use large amounts of energy. Finding ways to lower that could lead to notable energy savings and reduced emissions. Earth tube (ET) systems preheat/precool ambient air by directing it through the ground to exploit the relatively stable subsurface temperatures. The technology has been applied in several countries in North America, Europe and Asia. A 1.2 m inner diameter two-duct ET system at the University of Calgary was studied. The temperature in soil surrounding the ducts was monitored for twenty months. Data were collected and analyzed to evaluate the temperature change of soil surrounding the ducts. It was initially planned to determine if there is a net drawdown of heat in surrounding ground in very cold climates, or if the heat is largely replenished by inflow. However, due to the reverse airflow problem in the south duct, the research was limited to the stabilization of soil remote from the building effect.
Open Access
Birds, Buildings and LEED Mitigation Design at the University of Calgary Campus
(2014-05-05) Wood, Jessica Suzanne; Draper, Dianne
This appears to be the first study at the University of Calgary to assess bird collisions with buildings. Through an exploratory approach the intention was to gain an understanding of birds colliding with buildings at the university. Bird collisions were documented at the University of Calgary during the 2013 spring and fall bird migration. Only five birds were found to collide with four building structures. The low sample size posed challenges in undertaking statistical analysis. This research contributes a new vegetation density matrix and additions to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Pilot Credit 55. The information in this study may be built upon in order to conduct confirmatory research that accurately determines the extent of bird-building collisions at the University of Calgary and will, in turn, contribute to conservation of resident and migratory bird populations.
Open Access
Communicating Sustainable Food: Connecting scientific information to consumer action
(2014-07-03) Godfrey, David Matthew; Feng, Patrick Shiao Tsong
This thesis investigates the consumer behaviour impact of communicating environmental impact data. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and communication techniques from the behaviour change literature, I developed a campaign to communicate the water footprint of entrées at a university dining hall. I collected sales and production data and administered attitude surveys before and after the campaign’s implementation. In addition, I conducted qualitative interviews to explore how individuals interpreted, understood, and used the science-based information communicated. Based on available data, the campaign failed to change food purchase decisions and, over the course of the experiment, students’ attitude scores actually grew less positive toward choosing foods with low water footprints. Interview results suggest that the campaign’s effectiveness was hindered by the overpowering nature of convenience and important food attributes such as flavour, as well as a disconnection between abstract water footprint data and students’ own definitions of environmental sustainability.
Open Access
Computational Modelling of the Wind Flow over the University of Calgary Campus
(2015-09-04) Mohamed, Mohamed; Wood, David
This thesis investigates the issues pertaining to computational wind resource in the urban environment. The effect of trees on wind distortions above the roof of a 15-m high building was modelled via sink and source terms in the momentum, k and ɛ equations. The results from the simulations showed mean wind speed above the roof was not a monotonic function of ratio of tree-to-building height. Further, the trees reduced k over the roof via reduced production. Stagnating turbulent flows occur in an urban setting and the over-prediction of k with the standard k-ɛ turbulence model is ameliorated with a formulation of the eddy viscosity that eliminates the dependence of the production term on the components of the mean strain rate. The new turbulence model, MW, improved predictions for k over the roof of a simulated building. Its predictions for mean wind speed and k improved further with blending functions. The MW was tested on flows over a rough 2D ridge and a 3D hill and compared with the SST and k-ɛ . The MW showed good predictions for k relative to experiments at the crest of the 3D hill and also portrayed a feature that does not allow the flow to relax too quickly downstream of the 3D hill unlike the SST and k-ɛ. The behaviour of simple RANS models along a stagnation streamline of a normal at plate in a wind tunnel were compared with experiments. All models over-predicted k and the important terms in the k budget while large changes to k do not affect the mean velocities. The most accurate of the models was the ω-based Reynolds stress model. A simulation of the wind flow over the University of Calgary campus was undertaken to assess the likely regions for siting wind turbines and photovoltaic modules. The effect of the terrain and the many trees on the campus is shown to be significant for the wind resource over the roof of a six-storey building. The choice of turbulence models is not critical if the purpose of the simulations is to identify regions for further exploration via wind speed measurements.
Open Access
Reducing energy waste in post-secondary educational institutions using artificial intelligence
(2012) Motta Cabrera, David Francisco; Zareipour, Hamidreza
This thesis focuses on computer-related and lighting energy consumption in post-secondary educational institutions. In this respect, artificial intelligence and data association mining are proposed as tools to identify and reduce energy waste. First, an artificial intelligencebased method for forecasting computer usage is proposed. Based on the models' forecast, workstations can be turned on and off, in order to strike a balance between energy savings and user comfort. The models are evaluated on different datasets and their results compared to commercially available alternatives. Second, a data association mining-based approach is proposed to uncover possible relationships between occupancy patterns and lighting-related energy waste in classrooms. A wireless data collection system is used to log data from both lighting consumption and occupancy states during a year. Next, energy savings results of using the proposed approach are compared to those of an occupancy-activated lighting control system for classrooms.
Open Access
PV Integration and Peak Load Shaving Using Energy Storage Feasibility Study
(2017-12-19) Juha, Arafat Hamed; Knight, Andy; Nowiciki, Edwin; Pahlevani, Majid
Energy storage system (ESS) is a growing technology in distribution systems. ESS is used in different application such as peak load shaving, system upgrade deferrals, and improving renewable energy integration. A photovoltaic system (PV) is wildly used in the distribution system, and it has given good results in reducing the amount of consumed electrical power from the grid during the daytime. Yet still, it may cause some problems for the network. The intermittency problem because the generation of power is related to weather conditions, another issue is voltage fluctuation especially with high penetration of photovoltaic systems in the network. using energy storage device along with PV system to mitigate such problems. In this thesis an investigation of the impact of installing a photovoltaic system to the part of the University of Calgary distribution network. Utilizing a properly sized energy storage system with PV to manage peak load on the university campus.
Open Access
Techno-Economic Analysis for Integration of Hybrid Renewable Energy Resources in The Alberta Energy System
(2018-04-27) Moosavian, Seyed Mahdi; Wood, David Howe; Hassanzadeh, Hassan; Nowicki, Edwin Peter; Budiman, Roes Arief
Using stand-alone hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) is sometimes more economical than extending the grid to electrify just a few households. However, over generation and over demand are two common issues in deploying renewable energy resources in a stand-alone system. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a methodology for optimal design of HRES. University of Calgary Spy Hill Campus was chosen as case study to test this methodology and the optimum size for each generation components of HRES was determined. It was shown that the HRES with the determined size has the minimum total cost while it is able to fully cover the electrical demand of the campus. For the optimization purpose, a new optimization algorithm was introduced and its capability to find the optimum size of HRES was validated.
Open Access
Sustainable Building Advancements for Alberta
(2018) Parassery Sadasivan, Agasthya; Nowicki, Edwin
The Alberta electricity sector comprises electricity generated primarily from non-renewable sources like coal and natural gas which have high GHG emissions. Coal power plants and natural gas power plants account for approximately 85 percent of the electri
Open Access
Beehabilitation on Spaceship Earth
(2018-09-07) McLernon, Dylan; Eiserman, Jennifer; Leblanc, Jean-René; Hardy, Michele
“Spaceship Earth” is an enclosed ecosystem where the survival of all crew members depends on our ability to coexist (Ward). Currently, important life support systems on Spaceship Earth are malfunctioning due to human neglect. One result of this malfunction is the rapid decline of fellow crew members such as bees. Humans rely on bees to help pollinate over one-third of our food supply. Thus, our survival is inevitably linked to bee health. With all crew members of Spaceship Earth in mind: What could an ecological space look like where human beings live harmoniously and productively with bees? Beehabilitation on Spaceship Earth is an eco-art initiative that is focused on engaging citizens as actors towards the study and ecology of Calgary’s urban bumblebee populations. In a collaborative effort with Dr. Ralph Cartar from the department of Bioscience, small ceramic sculptures called Bumblebee Domiciles have been designed and field tested. As part of my graduate exhibit in the Nickle Galleries, Bumblebee Domiciles are being offered to the public for free. People who choose to take a Bumblebee Domicile are expected to take part in a community-based art project, to answer five questions about the sculptures functionality. Beehabilitation utilizes Research Creation as an overarching methodology, underpinned by Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Relational Aesthetics. Supporting methods include observation, field testing, and collaboration. My research is contextualized within an eco-art philosophy to minimize negative impacts on the planet, while maximizing positive impacts for bees. Preliminary findings from Dr. Ralph Cartar’s field tests show a forty-percent occupancy rate in Tree Domiciles. The importance of native bee ecology on Spaceship Earth cannot be overstated. Beehabiltation will educate the public about urban bee populations and ways to create mutual spaces for humans and bees.