Hanley Sustainability Institute

By Andrew Bartsch, Shannon Dennemann, Amelia Dougherty and Colleen Stumbruis

The newly formed Hanley Sustainability Institute (HSI) Residential Energy Team planned and facilitated the second annual Energy Assessment Bootcamp the weekend of April 5-7, 2024. The goal of the weekend was to provide students with multiple opportunities to deepen their understanding of energy topics and engage in experiential learning through an in-person audit of a campus house. 

The weekend kicked off with a panel discussion Friday, which focused on achieving long-term energy goals at the global, national and local levels. Panelists present were Bob Brecha (Director of HSI Sustainability Program), Katie Schoenenberger (Director of GIS Management and the Environmental Sustainability Project Division for the Office of Energy and Sustainability), Meg Maloney (Sustainability Manager at the City of Dayton) and Aileen Hull (Community Engagement Coordinator at Dayton Energy Collaborative). Topics of discussion included energy policy, Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and other methods of decarbonization, equity in sustainability, and UD’s new energy deal with AES Ohio and Tallgrass Dayton.  

One participant said their favorite part of the discussion was “getting to hear from and understand the differences of perspectives and aspects about the energy industry.” A special thanks to all panelists for offering their expertise in these important subject areas. 

Saturday’s session focused on peer education on various energy topics in preparation for the in-person audit. These included the energy grid, energy bill analysis, efficiency tracking, energy equity and an introduction to auditing. Participants learned about how energy is generated, transmitted and distributed, as well as how energy is purchased in Dayton. Participants also learned how to read their energy bills and meters, how energy usage is tracked and analyzed in the student neighborhood, and the importance of equity in the energy sector

On Sunday, students participated in an in-person blower door test and thermographic inspection of an on-campus guest house. The blower door test lowered the pressure inside the house, allowing participants to feel incoming air where there were leaks in the house’s insulation. The remaining portion of the day, students were able to conduct calculations to analyze the results of the tests, ultimately determining that the audited house was “leaky." 

Over the summer, two HSI Undergraduate Fellows will be dedicated to furthering residential energy work on campus.

Many thanks to Sarah Richard, Cassie Austin, Meg Maloney, Andrew Chiasson and Robert Gilbert for their efforts to help make this weekend great.