WATT'S HAPPENING
PUBLISHED BY
THE CENTER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
MURFREESBORO, TN
Volume 2 Issue 2 April 2000 Editor:
Linda Hardymon
Join us for TNAPPA at Paris
Landing State Park
Each year a unique
opportunity to come together as facilities professionals at higher education
institutions is offered through the Tennessee Association of Physical Plant
Administrators (TNAPPA). This year the event is hosted by The University of
Tennessee - Martin, Dyersburg State Community College, and Austin Peay State
University on May 17 -19, 2000, at Paris Landing State Park. Mark your calendars
and plan to attend.
Higher education facilities from across the state will be
represented - from Memphis to East Tennessee State, technology schools, and
community colleges - with personnel from directors to custodians in attendance.
Twelve educational sessions are planned to provide topics of interest plus the
opportunity to network with your counterparts in a beautiful state park setting.
The MTSU Center for Energy Efficiency is very supportive of the
conference because of the opportunities to learn and discuss up-to-date
situations, spend time with your peers, and share experiences. The Center
director Joe Whitefield will be leading two of the sessions on topics he
believes in - developing leadership skills and performance contracting. As a
part of a higher education facilities network there is a need for conferences
and exhibits such as these to maintain a high level of success. So join Joe and
the others who know involvement makes the difference.
Facilities managers are continually being asked to accomplish more
tasks with the same or reduced resources available. So, the need is to improve
-whether productivity or accountability - and to do so with improved customer
service. This conference will help you "Sharpen Your Skills." Is it a
question of "doing more with less" or "doing more, but
differently?" Sessions offered may help answer that question. Other
highlighted topics include commissioning, the state energy action plan, health
and safety training, a TOSHA update, ground cover/hardscape, roundtable
discussions about outsourcing vs insourcing, and more. There is something for
everyone, ending with a combined TBR/UT/TNAPPA board meeting to discuss where we
are heading.
Think about this, starting Wednesday morning, golf on the park's
championship golf course with best ball and a shot-gun start format; or fishing
on Kentucky Lake. Guides are available for hire, but bring your own equipment.
Contact David Gray for more information at 615-898-2414. Then, vendor exhibits
all afternoon followed by a barbeque feast for your pleasure. Thursday and
Friday are filled with educational sessions, more exhibits, and more food shared
by those wise enough to participate.
Members need to register for the conference and reserve rooms at
the Inn - $50+tax for rooms or $115+tax for cabins. (Call directly for the
special rates at 800-250-8614 or 901-642-4311.) Your response to this conference
is critical to our success.
Vendors, do the same, and also reserve your exhibit space. A booth
in the Vendor Show is available for $450 (which includes 2 registrations for all
meeting functions), or you can sponsor a reception, break, lunch, or the
banquet. A general sponsorship is $100. Contact Susan Davis, UT Conferences, for
additional information at 865-974-0280. Conference sponsorships are highly
visible and much appreciated.
The Center joins TNAPPA in inviting you to participate this year.
Remember, information is available at:
Member Registration: 865-974-0280
Vendor registration: 865-974-0280
Reservations: 800-250-8614
Golf or fishing: 615-898-2414
REGISTRATION FORM AND AGENDA
Lights Out On CLEP
The Fundamentals of Lighting Efficiency seminar and exam scheduled
on campus for March had to be cancelled due to inadequate response prior to the
registration deadline. Several of you called just past the deadline, but without
the minimum number needed to break even, we had to cancel. It was not an easy
decision. When we offer the seminars, the expense of the instructors and the fee
the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) charges for sponsoring has to be met.
As much as the Center wants to provide training opportunities for the energy
community, we must break even.
This is where YOU come in. Let us know where training interests lie
with YOU. Do you want a lighting efficiency seminar without the certification
exam? Do you want an HVAC efficiency seminar? Do you want a seminar that
discusses overall facility efficiency? Commissioning, Green Buildings? ESPC's?
ESCO selection? Steam, co-generation? YOU name it. E-mail or call the Center and
let us know.
We are in the early stages of planning another lighting seminar
without the certification exam as part of the package. Hopefully it will be less
expensive enabling more to come. It will greatly enhance the lighting efficiency
potential of all who attend. As soon as the date and agenda are set, we will let
you know.
Earth Day 2000
April 22, 2000 is Earth Day, or ED2K as it has been labeled by
some. In celebration of ED2K, thousands of communities around the world will
host a wide variety of events. Sun, wind, earth, water, and people will be
powering the many exhibits promoting a clean energy future.
ED2K involves thousands of events, from earth fairs to rallies to
concerts, sending a message that the earth is precious, perishable, and it
belongs to all of us. Check out http://www.earthday.net to see what is happening
near you. In Knoxville, several events are listed, including a "Green Power
Campaign" sponsored by TVERC (Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition) for
green power buyers supporting a cleaner, healthier environment.
Chattanooga also has several events listed at that web address,
including "Chattanooga Earth Day 2000: New Energy for a New Era" in
Coolidge Park. Visitors can sign up for green power, a first in the Tennessee
Valley, or visit a Green Vendor Row. In Nashville, visit the Middle Tennessee
"Earth Day Festival," check out hands-on environmental service
projects, and join the celebration featuring music, educational speakers, and
children's activities at the Green Hills YMCA. Or take part in an "Earth
Day Celebration" featuring composting and cheap plants and seeds at the
Scarrett-Bennett Center at 1008 19th Ave. South.
In Murfreesboro on April 15, the City Recreation Department is
sponsoring a morning "clean up on the Greenway" starting at
Cannonsburg, while the Students for Environmental Action (SEA) at MTSU are
holding a campus event on Thursday April 20 on the Knoll behind Keathley
University Center with vendors and music.
The name of the game is AWARENESS - so, go forth and be part of
something big this ED2K!
Topeka or Bust: MTSU's SolarBike 2000
Project
Last May the SolarBike Team took their vehicle, Rayce-Array, to
Kansas to participate in their inaugural event, the national SolarBike Rayce
USA. The bike performed well, but damaged a tire and had to withdraw from the
Rayce. The budget was so tight, unfortunately there were no spares.
The team has entered this year's national competition, FunRayce, to
be held in Topeka at Heartland Race Track in May. Again the team members are on
a tight budget. The students from Engineering Technology and Industrial Studies
(ETIS) need donations to support their effort to make it to Topeka. It is a
worthy cause, so if you feel the need to help them succeed, donations are being
accepted. Contact the Center for donation instructions. Thanks for your help!
The Rayce-Array is a three-wheeled vehicle without pedals that is
powered by solar panels and batteries. In last year's Rayce, only two college
teams passed scrutineering to enter the Rayce, and MTSU was one of them.
Competition is stiff, and we are competing against other schools with
established programs and much larger budgets and staffs. Rayce-Array has also
been displayed locally at events on and off campus and is used as a recruiting
tool for the ETIS Department. The web address for this year's Rayce-Array
project is http://www.solarbikeproject.bizland.com.
Demonstrations of the MTSU Rayce-Array, a solar electric Rhoades
car (a quadricycle), and the solar vehicle being built by Smyrna High School
students is scheduled April 29 in conjunction with the Tennessee Solar Energy
Association meeting. Give the Center a call for more information.
The Question of Case Studies
The Center is continuing the call for more case studies. In
particular, we are seeking information about energy projects in Tennessee or the
Southeast, whether completed or underway.
We want to help the energy community share information and feel
that by publishing a document in connection with the next EXPO, we can promote
the progress being made in our region of the country.
Please take a few minutes to let us hear from you and help improve
energy efficiency through example and information sharing. And thanks to those
of you have already responded.
Spreading the Energy Word…
* We were saddened to hear of the death of Earl Hildebrand of the Department of
Corrections on March 24, 2000. He was a staunch advocate for energy efficiency
and will be missed by those who worked with him.
* Check out the newly designed web page for the Center at www.mtsu.edu/~cee
* In previous newsletters, we have asked for comments, suggestions for seminars,
and case studies. Thanks to all who responded to that request. We want to
encourage others to let us know of any ideas, problems, or concerns relating to
energy you might have. We will share them through this newsletter. Letters,
e-mails, phone calls, faxes, suggestions, requests, and news articles are
appreciated -- keep in touch!
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