Hackathon: Campus Total Energy Usage And Building Control

In 2015, the 160 campus buildings and grounds used $40 million worth of energy. Come to the Nov. 17th hackathon to see where and why. Help improve our understanding of campus energy usage and increase energy efficiency!

An introduction by Daniel Diermeier, University Provost, will be followed by an orientation on the physical campus and its energy needs, and how it monitors and controls energy use. Experts will introduce hackathon participants to the basic concepts of energy, building automation systems, data visualization and energy efficiency. After orientation, participants will select from a series of challenges and spend the evening diving into university energy data, competing to identify features in campus data or to propose new tools for improving understanding of campus energy usage and increasing energy efficiency. Mentors will be on hand for questions and collaboration.

NEW! Datasets to be released at hackathon, first-look:

• Updated campus electricity, meter-level, now 2012-2016
• Natural gas usage at plant and campus building levels
• Weather station data
• Building Automation Systems (BAS) data

Schedule:

• 4:30 PM Welcome by Sian Beilock, Executive Vice Provost (room 201)

• 4:35 PM The Campus as a Lab Initiative, Liz Moyer Associate Prof., Geophysical Sciences

• 4:50 PM Research Challenges

• 5:00 PM How tonight works

• 5:05 PM Find your Breakouts!

• 5:15 PM Breakout 1: All About Energy

  Marcus Patterson & Alison Brizius, Dumb Buildings & Smart People (room 349)

  Sumit Ray & Sam Ori, Its Electric & Expensive (room 230)

  Liz Moyer, Tips & Tricks for Energy Analysis (room 112)

• 5:45 PM Breakout 2: Data and Design Skills!

  Joe Walsh, Title TBD (room 349)

  Jeffery Tharsen, Data Visualization & Interactivity (room 230)

  Leith McIndewar, Data Access & Searching 101 (room 112)

• 6:15 PM Challenges explained

• 6:20 PM Grab dinner and find teammates

• 6:30 PM Challenge start

• 10:00 PM Present your early findings!

This is part of the Campus as a Lab initiative. It is organized in partnership with the University of Chicago Office of the Provost, UChicagoSustainability, UChicago Facilities, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Center for Robust Decisionmaking on Climate and Energy Policy. More here.