Each semester, organizations throughout the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) have the opportunity to collaborate on work projects with college students. This past Spring semester, the Office of Facility Management’s Architectural and Engineering Division (AMP-400) engaged in a concerted effort with students from the University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Engineering to advance energy efficiency and research at the MMAC in Oklahoma City. Over the past five months, under the mentorship of subject matter experts from AMP, a group of OU engineering students took part in a Capstone project targeting the deep energy retrofit analysis of an existing building on the Center.
The Energy Act of 2020 requires federal agencies to implement any identified lifecycle cost-effective energy conservation measures and apply at least 50% of them using performance contracting. As a result of these requirements, a Capstone project became the ideal solution. With an ambitious objective of reducing the building’s annual energy consumption by 40%, the FAA’s AMP team provided the Capstone students with the construction details of the Systems Support Facility (196-SSF) and the eQuest energy modeling software. eQUEST is an energy modeling software and energy analysis tool that allows users to create simulations incorporating building location, orientation, wall/roof construction, window properties, and integrating HVAC systems, daylighting, and other control strategies. The students were then asked to construct the energy model in eQuest, determining the annual energy consumption of the building based on specific construction details. After a thorough review of the results by the FAA team, the base-building model was approved.
The Capstone students and the FAA teams worked together to determine the model and evaluate various energy improvements. The improvements included retrofitting the building envelope, lighting and lighting system control, and HVAC systems. The Capstone team repeatedly revised the model and executed the energy analysis for each proposed improvement. Results of the modeling iterations were presented to the FAA team via a series of design reviews, where Capstone team members functioned as the design professionals and the FAA Team acted as both client and mentor, offering both suggestions and critiques. The combined results of all the improvements resulted in an annual energy consumption reduction of 27.1%. The most significant savings were in the areas of improved lighting and HVAC systems.
While the final annual energy savings reductions fell shy of achieving the ambitious 40% goal, the project yielded practical and constructive improvements that will undoubtedly provide substantial energy savings. OU’s Capstone team gained valuable skills and experience in learning about energy modeling software, working together as a design team, understanding building systems and their impacts on energy consumption, and collaborating with and presenting to a group of subject matter experts. They also learned the value of preparing and presenting results to executive staff members.
MMAC Capstone is a community outreach effort in support of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. Students participate in end-of-semester projects sponsored by the FAA. These meaningful opportunities benefit the FAA by supplementing our capabilities at little or no cost while providing unique career opportunities for the students. If your organization has project ideas they would like to submit, please get in touch with Edward Drake or ext. 4-7327.
