Awards – Page 5 – The Energy Chronicle

Cloudy Skies Add to Real-World Learning Challenges at EnergyWhiz

Sherri Shields Awards, Feature Story, Media Advisory May 21, 2018May 14, 2021Critter Comfort Cottage, Energy Innovations, Energy Transfer Machine, EnergyWhiz, JSS, Junior Solar Sprint, Solar Energy Cook-off 1 Comment

By Sherri Shields

COCOA, Fla., May 21, 2018—A blanket of cloud-covered skies can be a real challenge for students to race Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) cars and keep solar oven temperatures sufficient for cooking.

Sam’s Speed Shop from McLane Middle School in Brandon, FL won first place in Race competition, second place in Most Innovative Design, and third place in the Best Design competition in the Blue Division (grades 7&8). *Photo: Liza Robles*

Although the sun never peeked through the clouds for the EnergyWhiz competitions on Saturday, May 12^th, at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, the JSS cars were still able to race. “One thing we’ve learned since hosting EnergyWhiz for the past 15 years is that if you want to stay on schedule, you need a backup plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate,” said Susan Schleith, K-12 Education program director. “Battery backup is now an essential part of the car design, for situations like this.”

Female student from Saturn Elementary School and a male student prepare to race their Junior Solar Sprint cars, which were modified to run on batteries instead of solar due to the cloudy sky. — Female student from Students prepare to race their Junior Solar Sprint cars, which were modified to run on batteries instead of solar due to the cloudy sky. *Photo: Leon Flowers*

2018 EnergyWhiz Awards

Sherri Shields Awards May 18, 2018July 23, 2018EnergyWhiz 0 Comment

C3, Middle, 2nd

Critter Comfort Cottage

Elementary Division

1^st Place – In Spike of it All (Hedgehog) – Lawton Chiles Elementary, Tampa

2^nd Place – Florida Ducks (Duck) – Ocean Breeze Elementary, Indian Harbor Beach

3^rd Place – Lil’ Peeps (Chickens) – Hans Christian Anderson Elementary, Rockledge

Middle School Division

1^st Place – The Mighty Midnighters (Cat) – Lake Nona Middle, Orlando

2^nd Place – The Happy Hoppers (Bunny) – Milwee Middle, Longwood

3rd Place – Chipmunk Chicks (Chipmunk) – Milwee Middle, Longwood

High School Division

1^st Place – The Bog Frogs (Bog Frog) – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

2^nd Place – Marley’s Habitat (Leopard Frog) – Rockledge High, Rockledge

WOW! Award Elementary Division

Lil’ Peeps (Chickens) – Hans Christian Anderson Elementary, Rockledge

WOW! Award Middle Division

Nature Gals (Squirrel) – Innovation Middle, Orlando

Energy Innovations

Middle School Division

1^st Place – Corn Snake Habitat – Milwee Middle, Longwood

2^nd Place – Solar Powered Water Fountain – Milwee Middle, Longwood

High School Division

1^st Place – T.I.M. (Disaster Assistant Robot) – Lyman High, Longwood

2^nd Place – Charge Barge – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

3^rd Place – Country Roads Putt Putt – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

WOW! Award Middle School Division

Solar Powered Water Fountain – Milwee Middle, Longwood

WOW! Award High School Division

Charge Barge – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

Energy Transfer Machine

1^st Place – Mission: Feed Sheldon – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

2^nd Place – Phoenix Engineers – Innovation Middle, Orlando

3^rd Place – Floridian Fan – Lyman High, Longwood

Precision Award – Phoenix Engineers – Innovation Middle, Orlando

Junior Solar Sprint

Best Design – Green Division (Grades 4 – 6)

1^st Place – Shelby Racing Team – Lithia Springs Elementary, Valrico

2^nd Place – Mavericks by MAV – Pinewood Elementary, Stuart

3^rd Place – Tie – Thunderbird 1, North Broward Preparatory, Coconut Creek

3^rd Place – Tie – USchool Tiger Sharks, Nova Southeast University School, Davie

Best Design – Blue Division (Grades 7 & 8)

1^st Place – Beast Mode – Innovation Middle, Orlando

2^nd Place – Solar McQueen – Milwee Middle, Longwood

3^rd Place – Sam’s Speed Shop – McLane Middle, Longwood

Most Innovative Green Division

1^st Place – Wonderful Wildebeasts – Corbett Preparatory, Tampa

2^nd Place – 3 Headed Phoenix – Innovation Middle, Orlando

3^rd Place – Solar Squad – McLane Middle, Brandon

Most Innovative Blue Division

1^st Place – Solar McQueen – Milwee Middle, Longwood

2^nd Place – Sam’s Speed Shop – McLane Middle, Brandon

3^rd Place – Solar Vikings – McLane Middle, Brandon

Race – Green Division

1^st Place – Solar Squad – McLane Middle, Brandon

2^nd Place – Shelby Racing Team – Lithia Springs Elementary, Valrico

3^rd Place – California Kings – Martinez Middle, Lutz

Race – Blue Division

1^st Place – Sam’s Speed Shop – McLane Middle, Brandon

2^nd Place – Double Two – Hidden Oaks Middle, Palm City

3^rd Place – The Cringe Crew – Hidden Oaks Middle, Palm City

Solar Energy Cook-off

Best Design – Yellow Division (Grades 4 – 6)

1^st Place – Sun Food – Martinez Middle, Lutz

2^nd Place – Sunday Chefs – East Elementary, Punta Gorda

3^rd Place – Three Amigos – Martinez Middle, Lutz

Best Design – Orange Division (Grades 7 & 8)

1^st Place – Sabores Grill – Lake Nona Middle, Orlando

2^nd Place – Solar Express – Milwee Middle, Longwood

3^rd Place – Solar Sharks, Hidden Oaks Middle, Palm City

Best Design – Red Division (Grades 9 – 12)

1^st Place – The Hot Pockets – Lyman High, Longwood

2^nd Place – Mango Marauders – Edgewood Jr/Sr High

WOW! Award Yellow Division

Sun Food – Martinez Middle, Lutz

WOW! Award Orange Division

Sabores Grill – Lake Nona Middle, Orlando

WOW! Award Red Division

Mango Marauders – Edgewood Jr/Sr High

Culinary Award – Yellow Division

1^st Place – Sunday Chefs – East Elementary, Punta Gorda

2^nd Place – Three Amigos – Martinez Middle, Lutz

3^rd Place – Tiki Troop – Atlantis Elementary, Cocoa

Culinary Award – Orange Division

1^st Place – Sabores Grill – Lake Nona Middle, Orlando

2^nd Place – Solar Express – Milwee Middle, Longwood

3^rd Place – Sunny Side Up – Milwee Middle, Longwood

Culinary Award – Red Division

1^st Place – Mango Marauders, Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

2^nd Place – The Hot Pockets, Lyman High, Longwood

Fresh From Florida Award Yellow Division

Sunday Chefs – East Elementary, Punta Gorda

Fresh From Florida Award Orange Division

Solar Express – Milwee Middle, Longwood

Fresh From Florida Award Red Division

Mango Marauders – Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Merritt Island

Electrathon

MediaContact: Charles Harrison, charlie@electrathonoftampabay.org

High School Division

1st place, Brandon HS car 14 with 121 laps

2nd place, Brooks DeBartolo car 55 with 87 laps

3rd place, Brandon HS car 9 with 76 laps

4th place, Simmons Career Center car 35 with 24 laps

5th place STEMTECH car 823 with 14 laps.

Open Division

1st place, Tiger Racing car 4 with 153 laps

2nd place, Silver Bullet Racing car 94 with 149 laps

3rd place, RYNO Racing car 13 with 49 laps

4th place, Seminole State College car 314 with 40 laps

5th place, Hillsborough Community College car 30 with 3 laps.

Advanced Battery Division

1st place, Pro EV car 39 with 171 laps

2nd place, University of South Florida car 132 with 121 laps

3rd place Titan Racing car 242 with 80 laps.

Electrathon of Tampa Bay End of the Year Awards, 2017-2018 Race Season.

Season Points Winners:

High School Division

1st place, Simmons Career car 35 with 348 points

2nd place, Brandon HS car 14 with 328 points

3rd place Simmons Career Center car 53 with 324 points.

Open Division

1st place Tiger Racing car 4 with 464 points

2nd place Silver Bullet Racing car 94 with 228 points

3rd place Hillsborough Community College car 30 with 214 points.

Advanced Battery Division

1st place, University of South Florida car 132 with 404 points

2nd place, Pro EV car 39 with 330 points

3rd place, Titan Racing car 242 with 158 points.

Volunteer of the Year: Aditya Chelikani

Executive Board Member of the Year: Brady Weber Team

Sponsor of the Year: Mark Knowlton (Brandon HS)

“I Broke Mine” Award: Dustyn Clark (Brandon HS)

Fastest Lap per Division:

High School Division Mulberry HS car 38 at the HCC Race with a lap time of 30.774.

Open Division Tiger Racing car 4 at the HCC Race with a lap time of 30.69

Advanced Battery Division University of South Florida car 132 at the HCC Race with a lap time of 26.471.

Most Laps for the 2017-2018 Race Season:

High School Division: Simmons Career Center car 53 with 729 laps,

Advanced Battery Division: University of South Florida car 132 with 790 laps

Open Division: Tiger Racing car 4 with 1,141 laps.

UCF 1 of 6 Nationwide Teams Selected to Lead Research Partnerships for High-Performance Housing

Sherri Shields Awards, Press Release July 11, 2017July 17, 2017air conditioning, DOE, indoor air quality, retrofit 0 Comment

Interior of townhouse with staircase by front door. Return air grill under on side of staircase with mini-split ac unti above front door. — This mini-split air conditioning unit is located as close as possible to the central return grille of the existing system to help with room-to-room air distribution.

By Sherri Shields

COCOA, Fla., July 11, 2017—The University of Central Florida (UCF) is one of six nationwide teams selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive $3.7 million to study how to improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes.

The selected projects are expected to lead to improved home energy efficiency and smarter home operation for millions of American families, saving money on their energy bills while improving health and comfort.

UCF will get more than $870,000 for two, two-year projects, which will be led by the university’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa, Fla. The center is a leader in energy research, with three decades of energy and buildings research, technical assistance, and training experience. It’s expertise has led to it being named a DOE Building America Program’s Industry Partnerships recipient.

FSEC Earns 2017 ENERGY STAR® Certified Homes Market Leader Award

Sherri Shields Awards, Press Release June 30, 2017June 30, 2017award, Energy Star, EPA, homes 0 Comment

COCOA, Fla., June 30, 2017—The University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center^® has earned an ENERGY STAR^® Certified Homes Market Leader Award in recognition of its continued commitment to providing our nation’s homebuyers with ENERGY STAR^® certified homes.

Home nergy raters submitted 2,905 home energy ratings through FSEC software services in 2017.

Each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR^® Certified Homes program presents Market Leader Awards to outstanding partners who have made important contributions to energy–efficient construction and environmental protection by building or verifying an outstanding number of ENERGY STAR^® certified homes. As a rating provider, Florida Solar Energy Center^® (FSEC^®) contributed 2,905 ENERGY STAR^® certified homes in 2016, which is equivalent to reducing CO₂ emissions by 4,915 metric tons.

“FSEC is pleased to be recognized for this award on behalf of the energy raters who worked with builders to achieve ENERGY STAR-labeled homes and registered their ratings through our software services,” says Robin Vieira, director of Buildings Research at FSEC.

The expert team of FSEC trainers and reviewers, working with energy raters, are an integral part of FSEC’s success as an ENERGY STAR^® provider. In addition, FSEC’s innovative EnergyGauge software “automatically computes the necessary ENERGY STAR calculation to make determining the energy efficiency level of compliance easy,” explains Vieira.

The partnership between FSEC and ENERGY STAR^® has been a lasting one. “FSEC helped EPA launch the ENERGY STAR^® for Homes program in 1995 and will continue to work to research energy-efficient methods and to educate the building industry on best practices,” added Vieira.

The ENERGY STAR^® program helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the environment through superior energy efficiency standards.

Learn more about ENERGY STAR at https://www.energystar.gov/about.

Review the full list of ENERGY STAR award winners at https://www.energystar.gov/about/2017_energy_star_certified_homes_market_leader_award_winners.

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PR17-05

Energized Students Infectious at Statewide Renewable Energy Competition

Sherri Shields Awards, Energy News, Press Release June 5, 2017June 30, 2017Critter Comfort Cottage, Electrathon, Energy Innovations, JSS, Junior Solar Sprint, pet house, Photovoltaics, PV, renewable energy, solar, solar cooking, Solar Energy Cook-off, solar ovens, solar panels 1 Comment

COCOA, June 5, 2017—Nearly 50 schools across Florida—from Key West and Tallahassee—participated in this year’s EnergyWhiz competition last month at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center.

More than 115 teams, which included nearly 500 students, prepared their projects for competition: model-sized solar cars for the Junior Solar Sprint (JSS), solar ovens for the Cook-off, full-scale photovoltaic panels for Energy Innovations, energy-efficient animal homes for the Critter Comfort Cottage competition, and go-cart-sized electric cars for the Electrathon.

In the longest running event, JSS, cars underwent inspection, design judging, time-trials, and new this year, team interviews. “Questions from judges may sometimes be intimidating, but interviews give students the opportunity to shine when they’ve put their heart and soul into a project,” said Guytri Still, JSS lead design judge and former middle school science teacher.

Long table with students on one side, inspectors on other side. JSS car being weighed in. — Junior Solar Sprint cars are inspected and weighed. Credit: Selina Black