Entries by Eric Broemel

Advancing Engineering Education: Unveiling the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering Building

According to Conexus Indiana, ongoing engineering and advanced manufacturing talent shortages in the state are resulting in a staggering $6.8B in lost tax revenue. As a top 30 regional Midwest university and a top 5 Best Value and Most Innovative University, Marian University is poised to address the challenge, creating the E.S. Witchger School of […]

Should You Spend ESSER II Funds on Facilities Projects?

Evaluating K-12 Facilities for Health and Safety     Since an additional round of COVID-19 emergency relief funding was announced through ESSER II, you’ve likely already started talking with your team and partners about how you can and should plan to spend this money. You have a list a mile long of the things your […]

How a Wind Study Informs Building Design

A wind study is an engineering tool we can use to help clients make informed design decisions. It’s not a primary component of most projects and is not done for every building design, but when it is needed, the results can make a significant impact on the daily experience users have with a building or […]

Using HVAC to Help Prevent the Spread of Illness

COVID-19 is transmitted through saliva droplets from the mouth and nose. These droplets are released by coughing, sneezing, or speaking. It is possible for them to remain in the air for hours and potentially be transmitted through ventilation systems. Your HVAC system is one tool you can use to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and […]

5 Things You Should Know

As the ASHRAE Central Indiana Chapter President, I set out several goals for myself. One of which, bringing engineers and architects together in a collaborative setting. The two worlds are joining forces in the industry already, and I see engineers and architects working as a cohesive unit in our office every day. I want to […]

Tools to Inform Design

Site Analysis with Daylight and Wind Good engineering design begins with a comprehensive understanding of not only where your building sits in the world, but how it sits on the site. Utilizing tools like Green Building Studio in Revit, the Schmidt Associates team is able to test various site configurations to inform design.     […]

Geothermal Heating Systems: How Do They Work?

Schmidt Associates has received an increasing number of inquiries about geothermal heating systems. We are also designing geothermal systems for a variety of projects. This blogs explains that technology. A geothermal ground source heat pump (GSHP) is an electrically powered system that taps the stored energy of the greatest solar collector in existence: the earth. […]

The 7 Types of Building Systems Engineering

When my eight year old asks what an engineer is, I say “we make things work.” People don’t think about how something works, until it doesn’t. Below is a basic description of the seven types of building systems engineering.     1. Civil Civil engineering related to building systems primarily deals with the routing of […]