IPRO 497-213

Mission Statement

The Illinois Institute of Technology NECA student chapter aims to bring awareness to the affordability of energy conservation by highlighting the potential of existing space on campus. Farr Hall is located on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology, and it is part of the Illinois Tech learning community. Currently, the future of Farr Hall is under question with some proposing that it should be demolished. The building was built in 1948, and much of it is currently unused by the university. By giving recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the building, we seek to prove that Farr Hall is worth renovating. We also want to develop a template to be used by future students to streamline the energy audit process-- maximizing this IPRO groups’ efficiency. Furthermore, we aim to explore the possibilities this space can bring to IIT’s surrounding community.

Our Services

Lighting

The lighting in Farr Hall had several inconsistencies. The lights were positioned so that the space directly beneath them was well lit but at the edges of the room there were dark spots that could use more lighting. It was clear that more fixtures were needed. Many windows did not have blinds which allowed for a lot of excess light to come in from the outside that could not be controlled. Some of the lights were not functional and the lights were mostly linear fluorescent lamps that needed to be cleaned. Some short-term recommendations we had were to add dimmers and motion sensors and add blinds to the windows. A long-term recommendation was to replace all the fluorescent lights with new LED lights.

Learn More

HVAC

The HVAC system in Farr Hall is in desperate need of repair because of years of misuse and neglect. The main problems are air conditioning units that are no longer working, water baseboard heaters that are damaged and need of repair and thermostats that don’t help with the temperature or air flow. Our team decided that all of the air conditioning units will be replaced with more energy efficient ones, and all the baseboard heaters will be replaced with electric based ones. This will over a 5-20- year period reduced the amount of energy the building will use and save on energy costs. This in time will make Farr Hall a place where both faculty and students can be comfortable without concern.

Learn More

Plumbing

Upon initial inspection, we found that current fixtures were out of date. Our team assembled two options for renovation. The first keeps existing structure while replacing fixtures with more efficient models—cutting water usage by more than half. The second option shows what it would take to put both male and female bathrooms on each floor. If the building were fully occupied, we estimate that 2,181,000 gallons of water would be used per year costing about $8,308—calculated using current water rates. The proposed new fixtures would reduce water usage to 803,527 gallons of water per year costing only $3,062 for a total savings of $5,246 per year. This yields a 90% return on investment after 20 years, but note that this timeframe can and will be reduced as the cost of water for the City of Chicago rises.

Learn More

Windows

Farr Hall has numerous outdated, broken, or unsealed outside windows allowing air to enter the building. This causes an enormous energy loss from extra heating and cooling usage. Updating the exterior windows of the building would be the most efficient way to lower energy costs.

Learn More