Communities Grant

G R I D

Jason Dedrick

Tarek Rakha

Elizabeth Krietemeyer

Across-disciplinary, cross-campus research project on smart energy use received one of the National Science Foundation’s first Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) grants in 2017.

The Foundation awarded $99,965 in funding to the interdisciplinary research team of Syracuse University faculty/Center of Excellence fellows Jason Dedrick, professor at the iSchool, and Tarek Rakha and Elizabeth Krietemeyer, assistant professors at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture.

Their project examines the feasibility of a community energy project in Austin, Texas. Community energy involves integrating smallscale solar power, demand management and energy storage at the community level to create economic, environmental and social value for individuals and communities, while improving the reliability and resilience of the electric grid. Their work is designed to create knowledge and tools for a program planned as a model for other communities across the U.S. DASHBOARDS AND WORKSHOPS The team has worked to design community energy dashboards for a smart/connected community, the Mueller neighborhood in Austin, and has conducted workshops to enhance visualization and simulation of build environment energy performance.

National Science Foundation S&CC funding is intended to support projects that are strongly interdisciplinary and integrative and that build research capacity to improve the understanding of smart and connected communities. That is important, according to the NSF, since “cities and communities in the U.S. and around the world are entering a new era of transformational change, in which their inhabitants and the surrounding built and natural environments are increasingly connected by smart technology, leading to new opportunities for innovation, improved services and enhanced quality of life.” GRID MODELS PROJECT Dedrick,Krietemeyer and Rakhaalso were awarded a complementary grant by theSyracuse CoE Faculty Fellows program for their project, “Community Energy Dashboard: A Tool for a Community Energy Approach.”

That initiative focuses on developing an urban building energy model that supports clean and resilient functioning of the electric grid; minimizing building energy use while increasing occupant comfort; and matching external energy resources with building energy demand. By integrating energy datasets and visualization methods, the team can design, test and identify opportunities for energy conservation, production and architectural and urban planning design strategies for clean and renewable energy.

Dedrick says the support of the Syracuse Center of Excellence has been instrumental in launching this area of research. “This planning grant represents the kind of cross-discipline, crosscampus research needed to pursue new and challenging opportunities such as Community Energy.” Cross-Campus Team Uses NSF, COE Funding to Develop Community Energy Models