Secretary Chu with students from MIT at the Better Buildings Case Competition finale, held in Washington D.C. | Photo by Ken Shipp.
On Friday, Secretary Chu joined a group of bright, ambitious university students for the finale of the Better Buildings Case Competition in Washington, DC.
The initiative, part of the President’s Better Buildings Challenge, taps into the innovative, out-of-the-box thinking of university energy clubs—tasking them to devise comprehensive solutions to persistent barriers to energy-efficiency for buildings in the marketplace.
As part of the competition, students analyzed four case studies—using real-world scenarios and data provided by partners in the Better Buildings Challenge —to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Secretary Chu announced the winners for each case study, based on two categories—most innovative solution and best proposal. Check out the case studies and winners teams below.
Case Study 1: Teams suggested ways that the City of Houston could build upon its existing policies and programs to create an even more effective environment that spurs greater investment in energy efficiency in its commercial building stock.
Winners:
- Most Innovative: University of California, Berkeley
- Best Proposal: George Washington University
Case Study 2: Teams proposed recommendations that the District of Columbia could apply to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center site to help ensure the redevelopment achieves the District’s goals for energy and water efficiency.
Winners:
- Most Innovative: MIT
- Best Proposal: Carnegie Mellon
Case Study 3: Teams suggested ways that HEI Hotels and Resorts can promote energy efficiency projects and other socially responsible programs.
Winners:
- Most Innovative: University of Colorado, Denver
- Best Proposal: Columbia University
Case Study 4: Teams suggested solutions to Cassidy Turley’s classic multitenant office building retrofit scenario, where the challenges of limited capital and split incentives between owners and tenants must be solved in order to implement energy efficiency projects.
Winners:
- Most Innovative: University of Southern California
- Best Proposal: MIT
By challenging the student to address real-world barriers to energy efficiency, the competition helps prepare the next-generation of leaders in the clean energy space. Visit the Better Buildings Case Competition site for more information about participating teams.
