the UW Sustainability blog
How do people really use the buildings on campus? A Green Seed Fund grant allowed a team of researchers to answer that question by developing a tool to audit users and better understand the effects of occupant behavior on building energy consumption.
The Washington Park Arboretum staff uses utility vehicles to maintain the park grounds, but current diesel vehicles are a source of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions (as well as being loud).
A team of researchers used a Green Seed Fund grant to discover whether biodiesel or electric vehicles would be the better option to replace the current fleet when looking at carbon footprint, performance, cost and user satisfaction.
On the southeast side of Gould Hall, the UW Green Wall project perches, providing a home for plants, birds and insects while helping to conserve water and reduce energy needs.
A team funded by a Green Seed Fund grant is studying the Green Wall to quantify the effects of the green wall. The research is documenting plant growth, bird and insect sightings, water use, the impact on the urban heat island effect and building energy performance.
A team from UW’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) used a Green Seed Fund Grant to increase sustainable practices in the department's 20 labs.
To better assess barriers to sustainability, project facilitators encouraged DEOHS labs to participate in UW’s Green Labs Certification program in the spring of 2014. That year, labs averaged a score of 45 percent on their Green Labs application – while other campus labs who took the application averaged a score of 73 percent.
How do LEED-certified buildings measure up on indoor environmental quality? UW’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering conducted an investigation, funded by a Green Seed Grant, at the LEED Gold-certified Husky Union Building (HUB) to find out.
Ever wondered what benefits a green wall adds to a building? Could electric or diesel vehicles support the rugged nature of the Grounds crew’s work? Green Seed Fund teams funded in 2013-14 will hold a poster session on June 2 to share the results of their research, which took a look at these questions and more.
Finding the answer to the age-old question: are electric vehicles better than diesel?
A research team is using a Green Seed Fund grant to test whether or not the indoor climate control system in the University of Washington student union building (HUB) is helping it save energy.