Go Green One Year Report: 2007-2008
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT AND OTHER PROJECTS
Energy Lab
Hawai'i Preparatory Academy (HPA) will start construction of its Energy Lab, one of the first of its kind, through the generosity of a donor who is passionate about education, the environment, and developing alternative fuels. The estimated completion date is January 2010. The purpose of the Energy Lab is to create an active learning center that engages students in the design, construction, and evaluation of renewable energy solutions. The project will include wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, solar thermal water heating systems, and data monitoring equipment.
Student Congress on Sustainability 2008
HPA and The Kohala Center sponsored the first annual Student Congress on Sustainability to promote education, awareness, and collaboration among high school students and teachers from Big Island schools. The three-day residential conference included speakers, workshops, and an excursion and featured locally-grown food. The students had the opportunity to communicate through live video teleconferencing with schools in Hamburg, Germany and Anchorage, Alaska. The feedback from the 80 participants was overwhelmingly positive. Next year, HPA hopes to extend invitations to neighbor island schools and to continue to sponsor the conference at no cost to schools or participants.
At the conference, Recycle Hawai'i and Earth-Friendly Schools Hawai'i presented HPA with the 2008 Keeping It Green Hawai'i award in recognition of the school's commitment to promote environmental protection and awareness and to implement sustainable practices in the community.
HPA's Go Green Car
HPA purchased a 1983 Mercedes Benz diesel car that was converted to run on recycled cooking oil by students at the first annual Student Congress on Sustainability 2008.
Solar Water Heating Systems for Faculty Cottages
New solar water heating systems were installed on six faculty houses bringing the total conversions to 14 in two years.
Compact Fluorescent Lights
HPA continues to replace iridescent light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. We continue to look for energy star products when purchasing fixtures and appliances.
Eco-Friendly Products
The dining hall continues to reduce its use of disposable take-out supplies and uses compostable disposable products. The housekeeping department installed coreless toilet paper roll fixtures and continues to test green cleaning products for effectiveness. The school orders recycled paper for its copying and printing machines. The bookstore manager attended a workshop and fair to learn about green products and has started to offer more eco-friendly products.
Locally-Grown Food
HPA is working with its food contractor Sodexo to promote locally-grown products. The school wants to support local businesses and farmers, take advantage of the fresher, higher-quality Big Island meats, fruits and vegetables, and reduce the carbon footprint of the food that is served in the dining hall.
STUDENT RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Solar Thermal Monitoring at the Village Campus: Students attached heat sensors to a working solar thermal panel to gather data. These data correlate to solar data at the same site and will be used to determine panel efficiency and eventually to compute energy and carbon saved in the process. Data from these projects are presented on monitors outside lab room 41A.
Student-Run Weather Stations: A donated wireless Weatherhawk weather station has been assembled and tested and will be deployed above campus. This weather station has no moving parts and should provide us with data to determine the feasibility of adding more wind turbines to generate electricity, as well as valuable precipitation information for the Waimea Watershed Project.
Two Davis weather stations currently are recording weather data, including archival wind and solar data, which are compared with data from solar panels installed at the Village Campus. Data from these projects are presented on monitors outside the 41a lab.
Meteorological Stations: These are different from weather stations in that they gather only discrete and very accurate data at high data rates. One example is the Onset meteorological station outside the classroom and others near the Energy Lab site. These will help us determine where to place the wind turbines. Data from these projects are presented on monitors outside lab room 41A.
"Virtual Earth": Students are running a server that gathers satellite data and displays the data into a visual earth presentation on monitors outside of lab room 41A. Anyone can look up his/her hometown and see what the weather and storms look like in real time from space. This is a very popular display (kiosk) for the students.
Informational Technology Building: Students use DENT power sensors to collect data on the amount and patterns of electrical load on this building, which was found to use about 10 percent of the electricity used by the entire campus. By analyzing these trends, energy conservation measures can be undertaken, and their impact measured.
GlobalFootprint.org Leaders: On a trip to the MacWorld conference, students met leaders in the development of computer monitoring and control devices. Students interviewed Mathis Wackernagel, creator of the Global Footprint organization, and set up a collaborative partnership on sustainability and programs to measure the global footprint for both the school's boarding and day students.
Energy Makeover: A student is working on an energy audit of the girls dorm, which currently heats all of its water with propane fuel. Once we have upgraded to solar thermal for this dorm, she will track energy savings and take measures to determine and reduce electrical energy loads on the building. This is the first year of a four-year project, which should ultimately become her very important senior project, as well as provide the school with valuable information and energy saving recommendations.
Montessori Earth Day Festival, May 1, 2008: Students demonstrated to the public the use and installation of a vertical axis wind turbine. Their participation generated a significant interest in wind energy and confirmed the need to develop an outreach program as part of the new Energy Lab.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Evaluation: Students in Advanced Placement Physics measured and analyzed the output from several VAWT units to determine and calculate the Betz coefficient for these turbines, which has yet to be determined. Although these students graduated from HPA, they will continue their research in aerodynamics and hope to leave behind data that other HPA students can build upon.
Biofuel: Students gathered used vegetable oil and used safe filtering methods to prepare it for use in diesel vehicles. This will be further developed next year when HPA installs a FAME (Fatty Acid Methylated Esters) preparation setup, which will produce pure biodiesel for use in the school's diesel 4WD Kawasaki Mule.
Energy Lab Design Liaison: Students worked with Buro Happold, a sustainability design firm, and Flansburg Architects, to develop unique solutions to be incorporated into the schematic design of the Energy Lab. The opportunity to interact with experts in the field has broadened their awareness and interest in career opportunities relating to sustainability.
County of Hawai'i Planning Commission Hearing: In July 2008, students gave testimony in support of the school's application for a Special Permit to build the Energy Lab on campus. They spoke passionately about the opportunities the Energy Lab will present for themselves and other students in the future. Our application was approved.
