The Engineering Solutions Club is a new student-led organization here on the Hill. You might remember seeing their table at the club fair—or maybe not—but either way, we at Unleashed think it’s important to highlight the amazing things that members of our community are creating.
The club was founded by four-year seniors John Randall and Gavin Rothe, and it’s been a long time coming. The two started the process in the fall of their junior year, and after a year of planning, pitching, and recruiting, their vision has finally come to life. But what exactly is the Engineering Solutions Club?
Officially, “the Engineering Solutions Club is a forum for all of our members to be creative and explore whatever projects they want to do on campus for the benefit of people on campus,” explains Randall. He knows how intimidating it can be to pursue a passion project, but adds, “by creating the Engineering Solutions Club, we’ve made this outlet where you can get funding, you can get support, and you can get other students involved.”
For Randall and Rothe, they had a very special passion project in mind: an ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit.
In simple terms, an ASHRAE energy audit is an in-depth look into how much energy a building (or in Kents Hill’s case, a campus) uses, where this energy goes, and how usage could be reduced. The club will begin this process in November and plans to wrap up by March—about 5 months of work.
“First, we will get a feel for how much energy the campus uses,” Randall says. By comparing energy bills provided by Mr. Farwell, Kents Hill’s Director of Operations, to standardized dorm data, the club hopes to determine how energy efficient our campus really is. “Are we using 10% more energy than we should be, or are we doing really well and using 10% less?” Randall suspects the school consumes an extraordinary amount of energy. This first step will confirm or deny his suspicions and reveal just how much work there is to do.
“Second, we will find out where that energy is going.” If the school turns out to be using more energy than recommended, the next step is to figure out why. Through monitoring and surveys, club members will pinpoint specific areas, like lighting or heating, that consume too much power.
“And third, we will find out how we can reduce that energy usage.” Once they know where the excess energy is going, the club will generate and present low- to no-cost solutions to make Kents Hill more efficient. Their plan is to present their findings and recommendations directly to the Board of Trustees.
But the Engineering Solutions Club doesn’t stop there. For Randall, this project is just the beginning. “I’ve always been passionate about the environment,” he says. “There are some changes that can be made at Kents Hill to make it more environmentally friendly.” That’s why he’s working on the ASHRAE audit. He believes that there are others who are just as passionate about other projects. He hopes students will bring their own ideas to the club, no matter the focus.
So if you ask me what the Engineering Solutions Club really is, I’d say it’s a way to make a positive impact on campus. Randall says he lives according to the campsite rule: “Leave every place better than you found it.” To me, this philosophy perfectly captures the spirit of the club. “Kents Hill has been such a special place for me,” he says, “and I really wanted to have an impact on it as well.”
If you share that same drive to leave Kents Hill better than you found it, the Engineering Solutions Club might just be the perfect place to start.