Lorax employees were excited to attend Engineering Green 2016 at Johns Hopkins University last week. The morning started with a presentation from the JHU Office of Sustainability. They detailed their efforts to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions among all campuses and facilities. As a leading research university with extensive laboratory space, they’ve been working on innovative solutions to mitigate the high process loads and indoor air quality challenges associated with lab space. We had an opportunity to tour the brand new Undergraduate Teaching Labs which included chilled beam cooling, underfloor air distribution, and energy recovery systems, along with beautiful rain gardens and bioretention facilities. It was an impressive demonstration of JHU’s ability to blend cutting edge technology into the campus’s scenic landscape.
There were a variety of informational sessions that we enjoyed as well. Tim attended a presentation on home energy efficiency hosted by a JHU Post-Doctoral researcher. He learned about energy saving strategies that employ integration of smart home appliances with the grid that he will be applying to his projects and his own house! Hailee attended a session hosted by BioHabitats and the Waterfront Partnership that included a case study about the Growing Green Initiative effort to transform vacant lots in the city. The goal is to turn unused lots into community amenities that give residents a green space to enjoy and can offer walking paths, community gardens, and nice views. We also learned more about the SITES v4 rating system to help create sustainable, functioning landscapes.
Overall we had a great day at Engineering Green! We learned a lot and got to interface with industry leaders and professionals who were happy to share their knowledge.