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Syracuse University’s Center of Excellence held its November Research & Technology Forum Wednesday afternoon, discussing efforts to implement drone-based techniques as an affordable solution for energy-saving in New York state.

The forum is designed to highlight research that helps buildings in New York adhere to the standards of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, according to the event’s website. Approximately 80% of residential and commercial buildings were constructed before the existence of modern energy codes.

SUNY ESF professors Shayan Mirzabeigi and Paul Crovella were featured as the event’s keynote speakers. Both discussed the initial modeling for the drone-based techniques, which allow researchers to analyze the buildings’ integrity and emissions, Mirzabeigi said.

“There is significant need for (low-income and disadvantaged communities) to improve the housing quality, to improve the energy efficiency in these buildings, so these techniques help to address both challenges,” Mirzabeigi said.

Mirzabeigi described the BEST Lab, a research group and testbed for CoE on SU’s South Campus, as his first “case study” using these drone techniques. The structure is a single-family residential building that was converted into a laboratory — used to assess the design and implementation of building controls, energy supply and demand systems.

The CoE has tested two types of drone networks at the BEST lab: one with a rectangular flight path for when a high resolution of data analysis is needed, and one with an elliptical flight path that captures data faster, Mirzabeigi said.

Jensen Zhang, an SU professor and the executive director for the CoE in Environmental and Energy Systems, said he hopes the forum encourages people to think about ways to improve and build on Mirzabeigi’s concept.

“There’s still many challenges,” Zhang said. “(We want to) motivate people to think about his idea, improve his technology, make it more accurate and cheaper to use or potentially even get someone to take the idea for new products.”

While drones are a generally viable method of analyzing buildings, Mirzabeigi said there are challenges associated with these systems, such as their reliability and vulnerability to weather. Other concerns include existing government regulations on drone usage.

While the CoE and Mirzabeigi are still working on ways to remedy these concerns, he said that he’s confident in the technology and the data it will collect toward reducing emissions.

Alex Dietrich, an associate vice president in SU’s Human Resources department, said she decided to attend the forum because she heard about the CoE in a newsletter sent from her colleague. Dietrich said she was so interested in the event that she showed up early to introduce herself to CoE leaders and receive a tour of the facility.

Dietrich said she believes some of CoE’s innovations exemplify the importance of research on topics like drone networks. The building’s features include solar panels, a green roof with plants to collect water and heating and cooling systems that have earned the building a LEED certification — the most widely-recognized green building rating system.

Zhang said that he hopes the forum encourages more collaboration between the tech industry and academic faculty from SU and SUNY ESF. He said both industry professionals and academics were well-represented in the audience.

“Everybody’s talking about Micron. Micron is important, but there are other industries on the cusp of the next big thing and I think that might actually be happening here right in this building,” Dietrich said.

Published on November 14, 2024 at 1:06 am

Contact Henry: hdaley@syr.edu