Cost-Effective Code Compliance: HVAC
Tue, Sep 28 | 10am-noon | FREE

The webinar will cover the HVAC provisions of the 2018 Seattle and Washington state energy codes for “commercial buildings,” highlighting requirements that are new to this year’s code and the differences between the Seattle and State codes. (“Commercial buildings” include multifamily buildings taller than 3 stories.) Discussion topics will include the Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR), data center standards, restrictions on fossil fuel and electric resistance heating, balanced ventilation, DOAS, energy recovery, HVAC system alterations, and more. Duane Jonlin, FAIA, will explain the code requirements, and special guest Ben Roush of FSI Engineers will demonstrate design options. Q&A time will follow.

https://www.lightingdesignlab.com/cost-effective-code-compliance-hvac

Commercial HPWH: Engineering Deep Dive Part 1
Mon, Oct 11 | 10am-noon | FREE

This course introduces the engineering fundamentals of central heat pump water heater systems and evaluates important design considerations, while also presenting the current landscape of market delivery, product availability and refrigerant technologies.

https://www.lightingdesignlab.com/commercial-hpwh-engineering-deep-dive-part-1

Commercial HPWH: Engineering Deep Dive Part 2
Wed, Oct 13 | 10am-noon | FREE

This course introduces the engineering fundamentals of central heat pump water heater systems and evaluates important design considerations, while also presenting the current landscape of market delivery, product availability and refrigerant technologies.

https://www.lightingdesignlab.com/commercial-hpwh-engineering-deep-dive-part-2

This month, Snohomish County PUD is energizing its innovative Arlington Microgrid and Clean Energy Center. Located near the Arlington Airport, the new project employs state-of-the-art technology to demonstrate the multiple uses of energy storage, including grid resiliency, renewable energy integration, grid support and electric vehicle integration.

Think of the Arlington Microgrid as a clean energy generator with a day job. When connected to the grid, the system will send power generated by the 500-kilowatt solar array on site to PUD customers. But if the microgrid is “islanded” and independent from the grid, it will have the ability to provide electricity to critical PUD facilities in the event of a storm or natural disaster.

To help fund the project, the PUD was granted $3.5 million in funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, covering over a quarter of the project’s costs.

Here’s a look at the components of the Arlington Microgrid and Clean Energy Center:

Battery Storage
The 1 megawatt/1.4 megawatt-hour lithium-ion battery storage system can store enough energy to power 30 homes for a full day. Powered by the on-site solar array, the battery will be able to power critical PUD facilities when the sun’s not shining or wind’s not blowing.

V2G Charging
Two vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, charging stations will allow PUD fleet vehicles to not only receive a charge but flow power back on to the grid. The PUD collaborated with Mitsubishi to build the two charging stations, which are the nation’s first grid-integrated V2G charging stations.

Clean Energy Center
The multi-use facility will use interactive exhibits and displays focused on renewable energy, battery storage and energy efficiency to educate industry and community members and students.

Community Solar
The 500-kilowatt solar array not only provides clean energy to power the battery storage system, but it expands access to solar power through the PUD’s Community Solar program.

 

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and 16 other organizations are collaborating on an important survey to better understand the diversity of the built environment and the experiences of people working in the built environment in the United States. The survey should take about 5-7 minutes, and as a thank you for completing it, you will have a chance to enter a drawing for one of four $250 Amazon gift cards.

Take the survey now

Eligibility: This survey is intended for people in the U.S. who are involved in real estate, design, construction, and/or maintenance of the U.S. built environment—that is, human-made structures, features, and facilities viewed collectively as an environment in which people live, work, learn, and play. You may receive an invitation to participate from more than one organization, but please only take this 2021 Built Environment Social Equity Survey once.

Privacy: The survey is being conducted by Avenue M Group, an independent market research company, and responses will be anonymous when collected and when shared with participating organizations. If you have any questions about this survey, please feel free to contact Trevor Schlusemann from Avenue M Group by emailing schlusemann@avenuemgroup.com.

Why This Survey Is Important: All people working in the built environment should have the support they need and opportunities to succeed. The survey will help partnering organizations better understand…

• The degree to which the built environment is inclusive
• Whether some demographic groups are underrepresented at certain levels or in areas of the built environment
• How people working in the built environment define diversity

This survey is crucial towards improving social equity within the built environment. We thank you for your help.

What are the technologies of the future that will make commercial buildings more energy efficient and climate-friendly? The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office Commercial Building Integration (CBI) team wants to hear from you as we review 2021’s most promising, market-ready, energy-efficient commercial building technologies.

CBI is hosting a series of discussions to collect feedback and comments on a prioritized set of cost-effective, underutilized, deployment-ready, energy-efficient technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will support our market transformation programs. Each year we invite participation from federal technology managers, renewable energy/ energy efficiency organizations, utilities, local governments, and industry and non-governmental organizations. This year, we specifically request feedback and participation from diverse and underrepresented populations.

If you think you may have contributions to help guide CBI’s prioritization of commercial building technologies, join us!

Dates and Times:

1. Tuesday, March 30, 1:00-2:00 ET
2. Thursday, April 8, 2:30-3:30 ET
3. Monday, April 12, 10:00-11:00 ET
4. Wednesday, April 21, 1:00-2:00 ET
5. Friday, April 30, 12:00-1:00 ET

To RSVP, please email Tim Manganello at Timothy.Manganello@guidehouse.com. In your RSVP, please include your:

1. Name
2. Organization
3. Top TWO preferred timeslots (we will be assigning people to timeslots to ensure we can keep the number of participants relatively even)

For more information, please visit the BTO website here.

The following is from the Energy Trust of Oregon blog.

Improving your building’s energy efficiency starts with understanding how equipment and building systems are actually operating.

Energy Trust of Oregon has partnered with the Smart Buildings Center, a regional resource for energy efficiency, to give commercial and industrial building owners and managers free access to diagnostic tools that gather performance information on their systems and buildings. By borrowing the tools at no cost (with free shipping thanks to Energy Trust), users can get a baseline level of building performance and actionable information to finetune their system without the steep investment of purchasing tools that are only used once or twice a year.

The Tool Lending Library offers 85 different types of tools for loan—more than 1,000 pieces of equipment—including data loggers, power meters, lighting loggers, infrared cameras, liquid and air flow measurement devices, and much more. Borrowers also get help with proper tool use and access to an online library of tutorials.

JELD-WEN, manufacturer of energy-efficient doors and windows, is a believer in the library’s value. Energy is in high demand across the company’s 80-acre Klamath Falls campus to power buildings, mechanical equipment, compressed air systems, motors and more. As participants in Energy Trust’s Strategic Energy Management offering, the company is committed to reducing energy use and improving operational efficiency. JELD-WEN’s internal energy team has leaned on the library’s resources to help them identify energy-saving opportunities throughout their facilities.

Jim Knolle, plant electrician, and Kyle Grant, swing shift lead, have worked side-by-side on JELD-WEN’s energy team to implement the company’s energy-saving initiatives. Over the past year, they’ve relied on the Tool Lending Library to help them gather deeper information on system operations and identify areas of improvement.

Recently Knolle borrowed data loggers to help evaluate real-time power consumption and performance in the company’s dry kilns “In some cases, we were shocked to learn how much energy we were using, and in other cases, how little.”

Data collected about temperature swings and fan speeds in the dry kilns helped Knolle address a problem with over-drying wood that was causing unnecessary product loss. The evaluation led JELD-WEN to upgrade the kiln system controls, which has helped to streamline the drying process, improve schedule efficiency and reduce waste.

Knolle is so pleased with the Tool Lending Library that he’s recommended it to others. “It is a great place to get resources that most companies don’t have. As we continue to seek energy efficiency improvements, we’ll take advantage of the library’s tools to help us do so.”

To borrow tools for your site, visit www.smartbuildingscenter.org/tool-library.

Careers in the energy efficiency industry are booming. To grow our nation’s workforce of building managers, operators, and technicians, we have teamed up with the U.S. Department of Energy. Check out the Better Buildings Workforce Development Portal to get career guidance, curriculum/credentials, continuing education and training, and internship opportunities.