Integrated Environmental Building Initiative NC (IEBINC)

December 8, 2015

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.2
Executive Summary.........3
Project Description............................................................................................................4
Biographic Sketch. 5-6
Our Plan........7
Plans, Benefits and Costs..8
Appendix....9
Figures.....10
References Cited11

Executive Summary
Our goal is to analyze and observe office-space efficiency in regards to energy consumption.
Integrated Environmental Building Initiative North Carolina (IEBINC) proposes to develop a
data plan to monitor the energy consumption of large commercial buildings. The data will be
collected using computers to measure the amount of energy used while the electronic devices are
being used, and also while they are idle. The data being collected will help generate a more
effective means of using energy, which will reduce costs and emissions while maximizing
comfort. Collecting this data will provide awareness for outages, excess usage, etc. It will give
the companies the ability to teach employees how to maximize the buildings energy efficiency.
Dr. Brentrup and his graduate assistants will come up with a model to create more comfort and
prevent the excess of energy usage in commercial buildings. These students will survey large
groups within different local commercial buildings. Using groups from different parts of each
building will maximize results because lighting and temperature can fluctuate within different
parts of a building. Below is an example of what an average work space consists of such as an
LED monitor, a phone, low rise panels, energy efficient laptop and desk lamp. Calculating this
data from different commercial buildings will help assess what maximizes comfort and
productivity in the workspace.

Figure 1.1

Project Description
Many commercial buildings within the Charlotte area use more energy than necessary
throughout the workday. Lights can be left on, thermostats may be on the wrong setting, and
devices that are not being used may be plugged in for long periods of time. We hope to not only
reduce the amount of energy being used, but also to inform people in the office space of how to
efficiently use these tools to create a more comfortable place to work.
Our plan is to use three groups of people in three different office spaces. The first group will be a
control, where we will simply monitor the energy usage as well as try to maximize comfort
within the office space. The second office will receive a small amount of information about how
to cut back on energy usage. The third groups energy usage will also be documented, and they
will also be given a large amount of information and training to reduce energy usage and
increase comfort in their workplace.
Phase One: We will place plug-load monitors in three different office spaces to monitor energy
consumption.
Phase Two: We will provide group number two with a bit of information about how to reduce
energy consumption.
Phase Three: We will provide group three with hands-on training and information about how to
significantly reduce energy consumption, which will result in a more comfortable workplace.
Phase Four: We will compare the differences in the amount of energy used between groups one,
two and three.
Phase Five: We will assess the success and progress of the program after it has been
implemented.

Biographical Sketch
Dr. Brentrups research includes sustainable design methods and energy
efficiency. More specifically, his expertise lies in the practice of daylighting;
a method for utilizing maximum sunlight and solar heat to conserve energy.
He will be in charge of this projects administration, scheduling, oversight
and management. Has been working with UNC Charlotte since 1989 and
obtained a bachelor's degree in Architecture at Arizona State University,
followed by a Masters in Architecture at UCLA.

Mona Azarbayjani is an Assistant Professor at the Integrated Design Labs,

Energy Performance Laboratory of the UNC Charlotte School of
Architecture, where she is currently teaching comprehensive studios, core
building technology course, energy modeling, and interactive envelope
seminars. Her focus in research is on the energy performance of buildings,
the study of thermal comfort with new technologies, and climateresponsive building design. For this project, she will be concentrating on
the architectural and spatial case studies

Dr. Wickliff pursued his M.A and PH.D at Purdue University. His recent
research has been focused on the rhetoric of nineteenth-century American
photography in scientific and technical texts. Dr. Wickliff will be in charge
of the dissemination model of this project.

Dr. Robert Cox pursued his S.B at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in

2001 then completed his Masters in Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
2002. He then completed his PH.D at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. Dr. Cox
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teaches Electrical Engineering and was nominated for UNC Charlotte Lee College of
Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2009. Dr. Cox conducts research involving power
systems and continues to be active within the Engineering college at UNC Charlotte.

Graduate Students of University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Day and Starnes will survey
workshop format and data plan. Assist in development of surveys, and workshops, develop
extensive literature, search per building type, and develop a cross-referential database.

Our Plan: A Greener Awareness and Approach to Commercial

Buildings
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Heighten environmental awareness at work

Purchase plug load monitors
Decrease overall energy usage in these buildings
Increase comfort with environmentally friendly heating and cooling factors, airflow and light
Decrease excess energy being used in commercial buildings
Maximize comfort in the work place
By generating data from this project we will be able to provide more data and analysis
supporting the need for environmental awareness in commercial buildings. Being able to
purchase these plug monitors will give us the opportunity to assess what energy sources are
being used unknowingly while the building is vacant. By doing so we can figure out what is
causing these non-environmental sources to be overused daily. From that analysis we can figure
out if these environmental functions such as lights, monitors, computers have a purpose to stay
on while the commercial building is not in use. Generating these results will give us the
opportunity to insure comfort within commercial buildings. Being able to limit the the energy
source will not only help the environment but it will also lower the commercial buildings energy
costs and make it run more efficiently. The goal is to ultimately increase the level of comfort for
occupants within commercial buildings. Accessing the plug monitors will help us generate data
and create a model that represents a properly energy efficient commercial building.

National Average of Vacancy Rates for Commerical Buildings

Vacant ; 15%

Leased; 85%

Figure 1.2 Data from this chart was generated by IU/CRC for Sustainably Integrated Building
and Sites

Plans, Benefits, and Costs

Figure 1.3 Budget Diagram

In figure 1.3 above represents the project budget. There are three categories direct costs, indirect
costs and administrative costs. Direct Costs refers to the labor and materials it takes to complete
this project successfully. Supplies are a part of the direct costs; the supplies include the plug
monitors, a smart power strip, Wi-Fi and transmitter ($300 need 10 per survey i.e. 4 min., 4
laptops, 1 Server-6Tb). The indirect cost deal with domestic travel and other costs unexpected
throughout the projects duration. The administrative costs deal with the 51% Dr. Brentrup and
other members of the project need to payback the university.

Appendix

Figure 1.4

Figure 2.1

Commercial Vacancy Rate for Uptown Charlotte

Vacant ; 11%

Leased; 89%

Figure 2.2

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References Cited
Figure 1.1 Plug Load. Digital image. Time to Fight Plug Load Monster. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct.
2015. http://blog.rmi.org/blog_time_to_fight_the_rising_plug_load_monster.
Figure 1.2 Brentrup, Dale. DATA MINING BUILDING PERFORMANCE. Rep. no. 1. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. PDF.
Figure 1.3 Generated by the budget our group made
Figure 1.4 Our budget generated by our group based off of the information we gathered from
Brentrup
Figure 2.1 Chart. Digital image. Managing Plug Load Is the Next Challenge for Energy Efficient
Buildings. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/may11/articles/legrand/110425022303legran
d.html>.
Figure 2.2 Brentrup, Dale. DATA MINING BUILDING PERFORMANCE. Rep. no. 1. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. PDF.
Pictures from Biographical Sketch "Department of English." Department of English. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://english.uncc.edu/>.

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