Faculty researchers from the Center for Research in Energy Systems and Technologies (CREST) of the School of Engineering of the University of San Carlos underwent energy research training with the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG) at the University of Southampton.

The five-week research training in Southampton started on August 8 and ended on September 9, 2017 and developed energy research capabilities of the participants, including Engrs. Isabelo Rabuya, Mark Anthony Cabilo, Jaybee Lacea, and Edward Querikiol from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Engr. Lorafe Lozano (Department of Industrial Engineering), Engr. Jonathan Colina (Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering), project staff Engr. Marianne Eleanor Catanyag, and CREST Director Dr. Luzvisminda Bellotindos.

Meetings were also conducted during this period around a project titled “Capacity in Research and Development Embedded in Case Studies Related to Energy in the Built Environment and for Rural Electrification” led by Prof. AbuBakr S. Bahaj of SERG and Engr. Rabuya. This activity is a component of an Institutional Links Grant (PHP 9.5M) awarded to CREST and SERG (GBP 120T). The Newton Agham two-year project is a joint grant by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the British Council Newton Fund.

Together CREST and SERG identified research challenges to focus on, namely (1) understanding current buildings and approaches for optimization in terms of energy use; (2) cost-effective designs for retrofitting old buildings; (3) energy monitoring and characterization of user behavior; (4) understanding data required to provide technology intervention in rural and island communities; (5) appropriate systems and designs for rural and island communities; and (6) cost of energy that considers affordability, policy intervention, and remoteness.

Along these themes, the CREST team learned software tools including EnergyPlus, HOMER, R, and ArcGIS to enhance energy research capability necessary for the project.

Two draft papers, one on energy efficiency in buildings and another on energy access for off-grid community development, were written and presented by the CREST team to SERG upon completion of the engagement. These papers will be further developed through building energy modeling work and off-grid island site visits. The two papers will also be presented at the collocated Engineering Research and Development for Technology, Association for Engineering Education in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and International Conference on Sustainable Energy Ecosystems (ERDT/AEESEAP/ICSEE) Conference hosted by the USC School of Engineering on October 18-20, 2017.

by Lorafe Lozano and Isabelo Rabuya

Tags: Research, Engineering