Alternatives to the Dartmouth Heating System
Engineering Capstone
Seven undergraduate teammates and I worked with college Executives, the Director of the Sustainability Office who sponsored the project and her team, the Dean of the College, the Director of Engineering and Utilities and her team, and the VP of Institutional Projects, among other offices. Access to the knowledge and perspectives of the stakeholders was critical to make a comprehensive recommendation addressing the needs of the community.
Overview
Our objective was to give the College a cost-effective final recommendation that reduces Dartmouth’s emissions by revolutionizing its heating system. Through a comprehensive analysis of non-combustion, combustion, and reduction technologies, we have identified optimized combinations of these technologies that will minimize greenhouse gas emissions, while reliably meeting Dartmouth’s heating demand.
General Approach
In developing our final recommendation, we divided our research into three technological categories: reduction, combustion, and non-combustion. We talked to experts on- and off-campus about the implementation of these technologies regarding localized case studies, consulting reports, and cost estimations. From this research, we quantified all of our viable alternatives in terms of capacity, cost, and CO2e emissions.
Optimizing for Cost and Emissions
To produce optimized energy production scenarios for Dartmouth, we created a MATLAB-based cost optimization model. Using inputs from our literature research and Dartmouth’s hourly heating demand data, the model produces an optimized mix of alternative technologies for Dartmouth that minimizes costs (capital, operations, electric) and emissions.
Conclusion
Our recommendation establishes that Dartmouth can meet its emissions goals in a technically viable and economically positive way. With complexity to our research, modeling, and iteratively and consistently working with experts to finalize a solution, we provided our client with a comprehensive and well-sourced recommendation.