Shep Anderson, director of the Energy Education program at Sinclair Community College, said the most accurate way to describe the Center for Energy Education is by looking at its mission statement.
It reads: “The Sinclair Center for Energy Education was created to be the nucleus of Sinclair’s campus-wide energy related activities and initiatives.”
Anderson said it sounds broad, but that is exactly what they are trying to do.
Anderson said in 2006, Sinclair President Steven Johnson wanted there to be a major energy initiative at the college. That’s when Technical Director Bob Gilbert took the lead and helped build the lab located in Building 11 Room 126.
Anderson said Sinclair really wanted to have a structure in place to support energy technology.
“If you think about the field of energy,” he said, “we as a country are just going to be doing more and more new and interesting things in terms of energy.”
If Anderson had to pick a specialization for the Sinclair energy program, he said it would be auditing, analyzing and improving construction in the Dayton area. The Center for Energy Education is working with the East End Development Corporation to deconstruct old abandoned homes in the Dayton area, according to Anderson.
“Instead of just taking a bulldozer to it and sending everything to a landfill, they go through the home to find reusable material for new construction,” Anderson said.
Anderson said a lot of the wood from framing and flooring can be reused. There is an example of the recycled materials from deconstructed houses on the fourth floor of Building 11.
Anderson said the Center for Energy Education helps training in areas with new construction in terms of weatherization. They go through new or existing buildings adding insulation, caulking and sealing to a structure to help make it more air tight, saving energy and cost.
Anderson said the lab in Building 11 has multiple functions. There are classes, technology and outreach programs that all happen in the lab. There are classes for solar panel design and installation, architectural energy analysis, fuel cell classes and HVAC related courses. In the lab, there are also solar panels, construction examples and a biodiesel convertor. The lab is also used for outreach programs for various local schools.
The Center for Energy Education is very accessible for students said Anderson.
“We are aware that there are many students who are interested and passionate about the field of energy,” Anderson said.
For more information visit the bulletin board outside Room 126 in Building 11 or contact Shep Anderson at shep.anderson@sinclair.edu.