Genzyme

view of the glass roof from the first floor

Today we visited the Genzyme Corporation headquarters located in Kendal square. Despite being a major office building Genzyme is an LED platinum-certified building. One way the Genzyme building accomplishes this is by using 40% less energy than a standard building, by using 100% renewable energy sources, and by being very water-efficient. One cool way in which Genyzme uses reneable energy is by using the waste produced by a nearby powerplant to create energy. This waste would otherwise be carbon emmited into the atmosphere. The Genzyme building also recieved the platinum certification because it is very well insulated and lets in a lot of outside air and light creating a healthy work environment that does not feel indoors.

 

Frisoli Center Audit

Frisoli Audit

On Thursday, we went to the frisoli center in east Cambridge to see how efficient their building is. the majority of the buildings light were florescent, but as we wondered through the building we noticed that many unoccupied rooms had their lights an air conditioning on. also, many rooms and areas such as the gym (which was also unoccupied) didn’t need any lighting at all. a few areas such as the lobby had big windows to let in sun light yet all their light were on. the frisoli center could save a lot of energy and money by simply turning a few things off. when we were done with our audit, we started to play knock out.

 

Power Grid

On monday, the team learned about the powerplant industry and electricity through an interactive board game. We learned how electricty moves through connected areas, how to be efficient in supplying electricty by powering cities in the same area, and how different types of energy cost more