The Cal Poly chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) participated for its first time in the NECA Green Energy Challenge (GEC) in October 2010, and won first place in the poster competition.
The GEC is a competition that urges participating chapters to conduct an “energy audit” by deciding on a local building, evaluating what sources of energy the building primarily uses, then attempting to find ways for sources to “operate more efficiently and use less power,” according to the NECA website.
Once a team conducts their audit, the next phase of the competition requires the compilation and submission of a plan to update the building and use more alternative energy sources. The Cal Poly team chose Corbett Canyon Vineyards in Arroyo Grande.
The team included students Adam Fischbach, Alex Emerson, Justin Lekos, Conrad Chin, Sean Melcher and Tara Bonifacio. Construction management professors Lonny Simonian and Thomas Korman advised the club.
Fischbach, a mechanical engineering senior and NECA club president, helped organize involvement in the Green Energy Challenge. He said the local NECA representative contacted Simonian and Korman to ask if Cal Poly would be interested in putting a NECA club together to participate in the event.
The professors presented the idea to their classes, and interested students got involved to make the club and the competition participation a reality.
“I don’t think our club charter came through until last spring (2010), and we started the process for participating in the competition around March (2010),” Fischbach said. “The NECA representative in the area helped us to connect with Corbett Canyon Vineyards, and the team split the work up and moved from there.”
Bonifacio, an architecture senior and NECA club member, said the team conducted an energy audit of the winery’s power and lighting systems and provided a retrofit for power and lighting systems as well as a new solar photovoltaic (light voltage) system.
Bonifacio said the best part of the project was that it went beyond the constraints of the competition.
“We were able to interact with the owner of a local winery where our energy evaluation of the site and building was useful,” Bonifacio said. “We were providing real-life ideas for improvements that the owner could make to be more green.”
Fischbach agreed with Bonifacio. He said the competition was a unique way for participants to explore sustainable opportunities.
“We are all definitely interested in doing things more ‘green’ — the industry needs to make green technology more affordable and needs to focus more on marketing (green technology),” Fischbach said. “This was a great way to get more involved in that movement.”
Fischbach said schools wishing to participate in the GEC submit a written report from their initial energy audit, and the top three schools are chosen to participate in the main competition. Schools that do not make it as far are invited to submit a poster for the Poster Competition — Cal Poly was one of these schools.
“Being able to submit to an additional competition was cool because it was a way to still get Cal Poly’s name out there and get some recognition for our program … it was even better that we won,” Fischbach said. “Next year, though, I hope we compete in the main competition.”
Bonifacio said she too hopes the Cal Poly team will advance to the final competition in 2011. Her advice for next year’s team: “Start sooner when communicating as a team and with industry professionals.”
The Milwaukee School of Engineering took first place in the main competition. It was led by faculty adviser Dudley Outcalt, assistant professor of architectural engineering and building construction. Outcalt congratulated Cal Poly on its poster win and urged the chapter to get involved in 2011’s competition.
“It’s a really impressive competition, and it takes a team of committed students to make it happen,” Outcalt said. “It’s worth all of the time and resources it takes, though, because it gives students a chance to see the products and services they will be working with in the future.”