Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse University will use a $560,296 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop computer tools architects and engineers can use to design green buildings. The project’s goal is to develop a “virtual design studio” that will let designers see how their choices affect a building’s performance. The simulations will analyze both energy efficiency and...
The Syracuse Center of Excellence will provide a testing ground for creating computer tools to design a green building. Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse University will use a $560,296 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop computer tools architects and engineers can use to design green buildings.
The project’s goal is to develop a “virtual design studio” that will let designers see how their choices affect a building’s performance. The simulations will analyze both energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality.
“This is something that hasn’t been done,” said Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and a principal investigator for the study.
If the goal is to make buildings that are very low in energy consumption and very high in indoor air quality, “a combined analysis will allow us to design buildings to achieve both goals at the same time,” Zhang said.
SU and the Syracuse Center of Excellence will contribute $142,058 in matching funds to bring the project total to $702,354.
Zhang is collaborating with Michael Pelken of SU’s School of Architecture, Hugh Henderson of CDH Energy in Cazenovia and the Florida Solar Energy Center. FSEC was instrumental in developing EnergyPlus, a building performance simulator available on the Department of Energy’s Web site.
Zhang’s project brings together scientists, architects, engineers and software developers. It builds on his previous work, some of it funded through the Center of Excellence, said Edward Bogucz, executive director of the CoE.
The CoE’s headquarters building at 727 E. Washington St. will provide a testing ground for Zhang’s project. The building was designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest standard — LEED Platinum.
“We’d like to look at the design process it went through,” Zhang said. “If we had this platform developed, how would the design process be changed or improved?”
The Department of Energy also announced a $1.67 million grant to Cornell University in Ithaca. Cornell will develop interactive graphical design and energy analysis tools for the next generation of computing environments.
The federal grants are part of $76 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support advanced energy-efficient building technology projects and job training. Homes and buildings account for about 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, according to the Energy Department.
Contact Marie Morelli at mmorelli@syracuse.com or 470-2220.