Progress Report

MEMO

Date: September 27, 2010
To: Jason Bermiller, English Instructor
From: Kari de Wit, ARET Student
Subject: Progress on Technical Report

The purpose of this memo is to present the progress made on my Analytical Research Report. In this memo, I will describe the work that I have completed from the time this project began, the work that I am in the process of and the work that I have yet to complete. I will also describe the work that is needed to complete an outline and begin writing my Technical report based on the notes you have laid out in class. This report is to gather comparable data on Geothermal Heating (GH) and Sewage Heat Recovery (SHR) based on the operation and the energy efficient conclusions drawn by the two very similar but very different heating and cooling systems.

WORK COMPLETED:

As per Dale Parkes’ ARET 222 course, I have shaped a blog on my proposed Research Project. I have completed a first draft Research proposal which lays out my principle objectives, suggested goals and summer plans in researching GH and SHR. This proposal then lead up to the selection of a Fire Hall as my designated building in which to incorporate both systems. This Fire Hall was designed in a previous ARET course taught by Instructor Walter Prescott called ARET 250: Plumbing Design. In this course the class was separated into groups and my group of three designed the plumbing schematic for the Fire Hall. I am using this plumbing schematic as a base, as well as some additional changes to the grey water piping, allowing the GH system and the SHR system to fit. I have also written an Abstract Document to clarify the direction I am taking and the lead up to my final conclusion.

CURRENT WORK:

I am currently in the process of gathering the last details of my research. I have sent out emails to numerous companies asking for assistance in calculations and proposed drawing details. And now that mentors have been assigned I will be meeting with mine to confirm whether my analytical report is heading in the right direction and to assist me with the obstacles I am facing. I am currently working on creating a floor plan, a section drawing and a site plan. I am also updating my plumbing schematic of the changes brought to my attention through my research. I am in the midst of doing some preliminary calculations on the heating and cooling savings on a GH system compared to conventional electric and gas furnaces. In regards to all of my findings and progress, I am continuing to update my ARET 222 blog, keeping the companies I have contacted up to date on my research.

WORK YET TO BE COMPLETE

I am waiting on the final design schematics as well as heating and cooling calculations from two GH and SHR Companies. After that, I will need to do the following in order to complete my research study:
• Organize through gathered research information,
• Place information into charts and tables for proper presentation, and
• Apply and calculate the heating and cooling needs of the Fire Hall.
Next, I will start building on my Technical Report Document. I will construct the Central Section, Conclusion and Introduction along with the Back Matter and Front Matter of my Technical Report, based on the requirements and sections you made in ENG 2850. Provided below is a Gantt chart that illustrates my project schedule, with the start and finish dates of the summary elements of the report.

CONCLUSION:

So far, my Analytical Research Report is coming along well. I have not run into any major problems and have found plenty of material on my subject through the course of my research. However, I have not heard back from Earth Comfort or Manitoba Hydro, with information on GH efficiency and am concerned that I will not have the information needed to arrive at the conclusion of my report. To prevent this from happening, I plan on contacting an Energy Expert directly. I can foresee a minor problem regarding the creation and placement of graphics in my Technical report. My solution for one is to speak with my mentor of possible connects he may have or that he himself may already know. Another one would be with getting back into the school routine of ARET classes, assignments, mid-terms, as well as balancing this Analytical Report. With this I plan to keep a day planner of tasks and their deadlines and to set up some goals as well as rewards for completion to keep me motivated. In general, I am finding that the comparison of GH and SHR systems is an even more attractive topic then it first appeared. Full details on this will appear in the final report.