Research Spotlight
Center for Sustainability
Under the direction of Dr. David Riley, Professor of Architectural Engineering at Penn State, the Center for Sustainability has initiated collaborative relationships between multiple academic, research, and administrative programs at the University to refine education and research in four targeted areas: green design architecture and engineering, hybrid energy systems, food security, and natural wastewater treatment. The mission of the Center is to integrate education, research, and outreach on issues of sustainability through innovative, interdisciplinary projects, facilities, and hands-on learning opportunities.
The research projects at the Center involve the efforts of interdisciplinary faculty and students from across the University Park campus, and many volunteers from the local community. The Center’s research agenda focuses on “systems research,” determining how well technologies and systems within our housing and communities can work together, including residential-scale renewable and conservation technologies, and green design architectural engineering.
Currently a team of Penn State students is putting the finishing touches on The MorningStar solar home to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy 2007 Solar Decathlon from October 12-20 in Washington, DC. Penn State is one of twenty teams selected to participate in this event sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Each team is awarded $100,000 over two years to support the Decathlon’s research goal of reducing the cost of solar-powered homes and advancing solar technology.
After the competition, the MorningStar will return to the Center’s 8.5 acre Site for Ecological Technologies on Porter Road to serve as the new Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HyRES) Laboratory, in addition to accommodating outreach programming for energy education. At the HyRES Lab, the MorningStar Home will be powered by a redundant hybrid system including solar and wind power, and will also be grid-connected. Net metering is used to balance energy use, and surplus power used to make hydrogen for a fuel cell vehicle. In rare cases when the sun, wind, and grid power are unavailable, the MorningStar Home will be powered through a vehicle possessing a fuel cell power system. Tours, workshops, field trips and other educational outreach programs will be regularly scheduled at the MorningStar residence in 2008. You can support the Solar Decathlon team at www.solar.psu.edu.
The Ecological Systems Laboratory (ESL) at the Center is a natural wastewater treatment facility that mimics nature’s own processes found in wetlands and marshes to remediate contaminated water. Since the plants are doing most of the work, the ESL offers a low impact, low cost and energy efficient alternative to chemical waste water treatment. This blackwater treatment system is capable of cleaning 1,000 gallons a day with expansions planned for the facility in the near future. The ESL also features a newly installed grid-tied solar array and tacker that provides power for the facility.
The Biointensive Gardening project focuses on food security research by investigating methods of food production and preparation that reduce the use of fossil fuels. Sustainable food production will in part depend on educating consumers about the embedded energy in our meals, our agricultural dependence on fossil fuels and foreign imports. Fertilizers, pesticides, and the irrigation, harvesting, processing, storage, refrigeration, packaging, and transportation of food all involve the use of petroleum products. The Center is investigating ways to lower the use of petroleum and the ecological footprint of our food at their biointensive minifarm and hoop house.
Other projects at the Center include the Powerlion Portable Powerstation featuring 30 53-watt solar panels, 12 photovoltaic gel batteries, and a diesel generator mounted atop an 18-foot long steel trailer. The Winter Gardening Project focuses on season-extended growing and harvesting that is necessary for food-generation in colder climates. The Instructional Garden Project uses innovative, experiential garden-based education in order to increase ecological literacy and stewardship. And, the straw bale workshops focus on straw bale construction and the benefits with this renewable resource.