ChapinHighSchoolEnergyProjectProposal

Preparedfor:ChapinHighSchoolandLexingtonRichlandSchoolDistrict5.

Authoredby:AcademicLeadershipAcademy,20132014FreshmanClass.
Submitted30May2014.

Contributors:PaulHampton,LavitaHairford,BrandonAshley,MichaelMewborne,Dawn
Weathersbee,AmyCarter,LaurieTaylor,RobertSchiferl.

Objective:TheobjectiveofthisprojectistofindareasonablewaytoreducetheChapin
HighSchoolenergybill.

Hypothesis:Thisyear,ourenergybillwaswayoverbudgetandwethinkthatthisrisein
ourenergyusageisduetotheconstructiongoingoninourschool.

Background:In1924,thefirstChapinHighSchoolbuildingwasmademainlyofconcrete
blocksandbricks.Thefirstgymwasaddedtothehighschoolin1952.Thisadditiontothe
schoolcostedlessthan$30,000.In1970,anewhighschoolwasbuiltwithbetterfacilities.
ThecurrentbudgetforChapinHighSchoolsenergyusagewassetat$134,748thispast
year.Wehavegoneoverthisbudgetby$84,543.Thisplacesusat$219,291forthe
energybillbytheendofMarch.ComparedtootherschoolsintheDistrictwehavethe
highestenergybill.Thisismostlikelyduetotheageofthebuildingitself.Themost
interestingpartofaboutourresearchwasthefactthatourschoolwasrenovatedmore
recentlythanotherschoolsinthedistrict.Basedonourfindings,eventhoughourschoolis
theoldestinthedistrict,thatisnotnecessarilytheoverallproblemofthehighvarianceof
theenergybillbasedonourbudget.
Energyismeasuredinkilowattsperhour.ChapinHighSchool'senergyisboughtfrom
SCE&G.TheratesCHSischargedare$.11perkilowatthourforthefirst50,000kWhand
$.13foranyexcess.ChapinHighgetsasmalldiscount,thenormalbillingrateis$.15per
kilowatthour.Thereisalsoa$15.50servicechargeaddedtothis.Thisyearalone,we've
spentover$250,000onourenergybill,andthenumbercontinuestoincrease.Weare
billedonamonthlyrotationandtheamountisbetween$40,000and$50,000.Thenew
gymalonewilladd$3,600nottakingintoaccountheatingandair.Therewillbethree
transmittersintheschoolwhenconstructionfinishesonenearthecafeteria,oneintheold
partofthebuilding,andoneinthenewgymnasium.

MethodsandMaterials:Tostarttheproject,afewSCE&Gworkerscametoourclass
anddiscussedwithusthesciencebehindtheproject,aswellashistoryofourschools
energyconsumption.Asagroup,webrainstormedideasthatwethoughtweretheschools
largestenergyconsumers.Wevotedanddecidedtotesttechnology(suchascomputers
andtelevisions)aswellasairconditioningandheatingcosts(wemeasuredthisbythe
windowseffectandtheeffectofopendoors).Wemeasuredtheamountofamperesthat
differenttypesoftechnologyneededinordertooperate.WetestedTVandcomputer
monitors.Forthis,thematerialsweusedwereTVandcomputermonitorsandatoolto
showustheamountenergybeingused.Whenresearchingthewindowseffectona
classroom,wemeasuredtemperatureintheroomcomparedtothetemperaturenearthe
window.Wecollecteddatafromtheheatofthewindows.Thematerialsusedforthiswere
windows,temperaturemonitors,andrulers.Whenmeasuringthedoortemperature,we
measuredthetemperatureinsideandoutsidethedoorandsawtheeffectoftheopen
doorsonthetemperatureoftheschool.Thematerialsweusedwererulers,temperature
monitors,anddoors.

Procedures:Threetypesofdataweretaken.TheyinvolvedDoors,Windows,andTV
monitorsandcomputers.
(DOORS)Thedoorsgrouptooktheirdatabytakingtemperaturemeasurementsright
nextthedoor,threemetersaway,andthensixmetersfromthedoor.Theyweresearching
fortemperaturechangestoanalyzehowhardtheairconditionerhadtoworktomaintaina
constanttemperaturelevel.Afterconductingtheseinitialobservations,thegroupopened
thedoorfortenminutes.Everyminute,thegroupmeasuredthetemperatureinthedoorway.
Finally,theyclosedthedoorandtooktheirinitialcalculationsagain.Thisconcludedtheir
portionoftheexperiment.
(WINDOWS)Thewindowsgroupfirstdividedintotwogroups.Therewasoneteam
foroldroomswitholderwindows,andasecondteamthatventuredtothenewroomswith
newerwindows.Thefirstprocedureforbothteamswastorecordthetemperatureoutside.
Asthetwogroupstravelledaroundtheschool,theytookdatafromroomswheretheywere
allowedaccess.Afteraskingtheteachertousetheirroom,theyrecordedtheroom
temperature.Thentheymovedrightnexttothewindow,andagainmeasuredthe
temperature.Eachgroupcollecteddataforthreerooms.Thisdatagaveustheinformation
tofigureouthowmuchtheairconditionerhadtoworktokeeptheroomataconstant
temperature.TheoldwindowteamsdataconcludedthatwindowsintheFineArtsbuilding
hadthehighestroomtowindowtemperatureratio.Roomsinthefrontoftheschoolaround
thefrontofficehadthelowestroomtowindowtemperatureratio.
(TVMONITORS/COMPUTERS)Inonelargegroup,thisteamfollowedMr.Schiferland
wentaroundtheschool.TheymeasuredVolts,Amps,andPower.Thedevicesthey
measuredwereanAppleLaptop,aSmartBoardLCDProjector,andaComputerMonitor.
ThereresultsshowedthatanLCDProjectorusedthemostenergyoutofthesethree
products.Theresearchgroupthatmeasuredthevoltageproducedthroughthetelevisions
andthecomputermonitorscollectedtheirdatathroughtwodifferentinstruments.Thetools
includedaplugindeviceandadevicecalledavoltmeterthatwouldmeasurevoltage.The
plugdevicewouldbeusedtowheretheplugofthedevicebeingmeasuredwillbeputinto
theplugdevice.Thenthevoltmeterwouldmeasurethevoltage.

Limitations:Theclassessplitintogroupsinordertoresearchandgatherdataaboutthe
energyusedattheschool.Severalofthegroupsexperiencedproblemswithtechnology
thatgaveinconclusivedata.Forthecomputer/TVgroup,theTVsweremountedonthewall,
sonodatacouldbecollectedfromthem.Thegroupfordoorshadproblemswiththe
differenceintimeinwhicheachdoorwasputin.Thegroupforwindowsranintothe
problemofot.beingabletogetdataondayswithdifferentexternaltemperatures.lsol,we
didnthaveverymuchtimetoactuallygatherthedata(wewereonlygivenapartofone
classperiod),whichledtolackofdataincertaingroups.

DoorResearch:
Findings:At0metersawayfromthedoor,thetemperatureinitiallyplummetedand
fluctuatedabit,butoverallfellwiththedooropenfor10minutes.Threemetersawayfrom
thedoor,thetemperatureremainedconstantforthefirsthalfofthetrial,andthenalso
plummetedroughlyonedegreeandremainedatthattemperatureforthedurationofthe
trial.Atthe6meterinterval,whichhadthelowestinitialtemperature,thetemperature
jumpedroughlytwodegreesinthefirsttwominutes,andthengraduallyfellslightlyoverthe
remainderofthetrialbacktoitsinitialtemperature.Themostmajorresultofthis
experimentcouldbethatinhallways,whichareexposedtoopendoorsthatleadboth
outsideandinside,temperaturesbetweensmallintervalsofafewmetersvarysignificantly
withnolongtermexposuretooutsidetemperatures.However,whenadoorisleftopenfor
anextendedperiodoftime,thetemperaturesatthedifferentintervalsawayfromthedoor
graduallybegintoevenout,andtheinitialgapbetweenthetemperaturesbeginstolevel
out,asshowninthegraph.Also,theairconditioningsystemhastoworkhardestrightin
frontofthedoor,possiblyresultinginovercompensationinanattempttoblockoffthehotor
coldairfromenteringtheschool.

Analysis:Whencollectingdataforthedoortemperature,aproblemoccurred,asthe
temperatureremainedthesame.Thisisntusefuldata,becausethethermostatkeptthe
insidetemperatureconstant.Becausewecollecteddatainamainhallwayarea,the
temperaturecontroltookeffectverystrongly.Thismeansthat,althoughthetemperature
fluctuated,itwasn'tprecisedata,anddidnotaccuratelyrepresentthetemperaturechange,
ortheenergyused.
Thetemperature,however,slightlyfluctuatedwithinthetimelimit,butwasrandomand
didnthaveaconstantrateofchange.Thisremainedtrue,evenwhenthedistancefromthe
doorschanged.Thisshowsthat,whileourairconditioningsystemisefficient,itisusinga
lotofenergytokeepaconstanttemperature.

WindowResearch:
Findings:Whilegatheringourdata,onemajorobservationwasthereisn'toneconstant
temperaturethroughouttheschool.Roomsrightnexttoeachothercanhavetemperature
differenceswithinfivedegrees.Airconditioningunitsusealotofenergy,andthese
changesintemperaturecausetheA/Cunittohavetoworkharder.Withthisinmind,we
recommendthatinsteadofallowingteacherstoindividuallychangetheirclassroom
temperatures,thereshouldbeanexecutivetemperaturesotheairconditioningdoesnt
havetousemoreenergythanitalreadydoes.
Ourgraphshowsthatroomsinthefineartsbuildinguseupthemostenergy.This
conclusioncomesfromthefactthattheyaretheoldestpartoftheschool.Also,roomson
the200wingoftheschoolhavethelowestdifferenceoftemperatures,androomsonthe
400wingoftemperaturedifferencesof2+C.

Analysis:Thedivisionoftheuseofenergyaroundourfacilitycanbefoundaroundthe
school,butthemostcostlyanddrainingistheuseofairconditioningandheating.Cooling
throughouttheschoolcandependonthelocationofthedatacollected.Withthatinmind,
windowswithindifferentsectionsofthefacilitycanvaryineffectiveness.Thenewestsector
oftheschoolfeaturesthenewestwindowsintheschool.Thedatawecollectedillustrates
thatthenewerwindowscontrolledtheroom'stemperaturemoreefficientlythantheolder
windows.Thevariationoftheroomtemperatureinthenewbuildingwentfromalowof21
23Cwhiletheolderbuilding'stemperaturewentfrom2226C.Thisshowsthatthe
windowsinthenewbuildinghavelessleaksthantheolderwindows.

TVMonitorResearch:
Findings:AMaclaptopused0.21Amperesand120Voltswhilerunning.AnLCD
projectorused2.6Amperesand120Volts.Acomputermonitorused0.62Amperesand
120Volts.

Analysis:Welearnedthatprojectorsusethemostenergyoutofthethreeformsof
technologythatwetested.Weshouldlimitprojectorusageandmakesurethatthescreens
aren'tleftonatrandompointsintime.Thelaptopusestheleast,butconsideringhowmany
laptopsareconstantlypluggedinthroughouttheschool,theymostlikelyusethesame
amountofenergyormorethantheprojectors.Wewerelimitedonwhatwecouldtest,soall
thedatamaynotbethemostreliable.

MinorConclusions:
Fromourbackgroundresearch,welearnedthattheheating/airbillisourbiggest
problemconcerningourenergyusage.Wethoughtthatsincethenewbuildingwouldhave
newlyinstalledwindows,theywouldbemoreefficientthanthewindowsintheoldbuilding.
Wethoughtthattheoldwindowsmightbelettinginsomeairwhichcouldmaketheroom
morehotorcoldthanthenewbuildingsrooms,thereforecausingustousemoreheatingor
airintheoldbuilding.Thedatawecollectedshowedthattheolderwindowsmadethe
roomshotterbyaboutthreedegrees.Whilethisshowsasmallchangeintemperature,its
notenoughtomakethatbigofadifference.Sincethedifferenceisnotthatbig,wedont
feelthatitisthewindowsthatarecausingtheheatingandairproblem.Thereforewe
shouldnotwastemoneyonnewwindowsfortheoldbuilding.Instead,weshouldspendthe
moneyonanotherproblemthatcouldbemoreefficientinloweringthebill.
Apossiblecausefortheinflamedenergybillisthatweareleavingthedoorsopenfor
suchlongincrementsoftime.LeavingthesedoorsopenforsolongcausestheAir
Conditioningbilltoincrease.Theoutsideaircominginsideiscancelingouttheeffectofthe
airconditioning.Ifweleavethedoorsopen,thenhavingtheACrunningisnotaseffective,
anditisjustincreasingourenergybill.Basedontheinformationanddatacollected,we
haveconcludedthatthefartherawayyougetfromthedoor,thecooleritgets.Insteadof
leavingthesedoorscrackedopentoletintheheatandallowstudentsaccesstothe
differentbuildings,wecouldjustunlockthedoors.Thatway,thestudents,teachers,and
qualifiedpersonnelcanholdaccesstotheareastheyareneededin,withouttheadded
costtoourenergybill.Anotherproblemisthelargegapsbetweenthebaseofthedoorand
thefloor.Thisgapallowsoutsideairtocomein.Ithasthesameeffectasleavingadoor
open.Thewaytosolvethisissueistosealthegapbetweenthedoorandfloorby
enclosingthenegativespaceleftbetweenthedoorandthefloorduringinstallation.The
doorsdidntseemtobeamajorproblem.However,theycanstillbeusedtohelpsave
energy.Onewaytosaveenergywouldbetosealupthedoorsbettersoheatoraircan't
escape.WecametotheconclusionthatiftheAirConditioningisrunningandthedoorsare
open,theinternaltemperatureisaffected,sotheyshouldn'tbeopenunnecessarilyto
preventenergyloss.

MajorConclusion:
Aftermeasuringtheampsofthelaptop,LCDprojector,andthemonitor,wefoundthat
theprojectorsusemorewattsofpowerthananyotherdevice.Basedonthisdata,we
recommendlimitingtheuseoftheseprojectorsorfindingamoreenergyefficient
replacement.Weunderstandthatitwouldbeimpracticaltogetridoftheprojectors
altogether,butbyputtingrestrictionsonhowmuchteachersusethemeveryweek,wecould
savepower.Wecouldalsogetsometypeoftimerthatturnstheprojectoroffafteracertain
amountoftime.Thiswouldhelpsaveenergywhenteachersleavetheroomandthe
projectorisstillon.

FurtherResearch:
Somepotentialfutureresearchwecoulddowouldinvolvebettertechnologyovera
longerperiodoftime.Whilewedidmeasureseveraldifferentthings,lotsofthedatawe
collectedwasinconclusive.Inourdatacollectedinthedoorsection,ourdatawasaffected
bytheairconditioningunits.Thisshowedushowfasttheairconditioningrespondedto
temperaturechange,butitdidn'tshowtheamountofenergyusedinthesesystems.Further
studiesonthetemperaturechangearounddoorswouldbehelpfultounderstandtheextent
towhichtemperaturechangeaffectsenergycost.Thiscouldinfluencenewconclusionsand
solutionstotheenergycost.
Onemajortopicwedidn'tcollectdatainfortheprojectwasconstruction.Thiscould
certainlybeabigfactor,butitishardtomeasuretheamountofenergytheconstructionis
usingonadailybasis.Thisisbecausethereisnocontrolgroup,andwecannotmeasure
individualactionsbytheconstructionworkers.Also,doingthisexperimentovertime,we
couldmeasurethetemperatureinthewinterversusthesummerinsideandoutsidethe
buildingandseewhenandhowweareusingthemostenergyandatwhattimesweuseit.

ContactInformation:
300ColumbiaAve,Chapin,SC29036
(803)5755400