Recent ciee_buildingsenablingtechnologies items

Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Advanced Energy Communities Phase 1 Projects: Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities

Fri, 8 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report synthesizes the planning-phase experiences of twelve Advanced Energy Community (AEC) projects funded under the California Energy Commission’s EPIC Phase I program. Conducted between 2020 and 2022, the study compares approaches to technical design, financing, community engagement, and regulatory challenges. It highlights early lessons and common barriers in support of more equitable, resilient, and locally driven energy transitions.

Smart Thermostats Plus Heat Pumps: Incompatible? Or Just Need Counseling?

Tue, 7 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Advanced, colorfully-graphic touch-screen thermostats entered the market over ten years ago, providing a much-needed improvement to the control of home heating and cooling systems. And in the last few years, climate change mitigation concerns and rebates from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have accelerated heat pump installations in homes across the U.S. But the relationship of smart thermostats to typical air source heat pumps (ASHP) has been rocky at best: ASHPs with variable speed drives require a deeper integration with a thermostat, and most third-party smart thermostats have step-level staged control. Proprietary thermostats that come with the ASHP units are typically not as easy to understand and use as the popular smart thermostats on the market. Moreover, heat pumps with supplemental electric resistance heating require a different control approach that respects the lower temperature/long cycle heat transfer of heat pumps and understands the impact on the electrical...

When Smart Thermostats Are Dumb: Lessons Learned from Evaluating Eight Advanced Thermostats

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

When Smart Thermostats Are Dumb: Lessons Learned from Evaluating Eight Advanced Thermostats

Case Study: Adaptive LED Wall Packs

Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is a case study for the State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations (originally UC/CSU Energy Efficient Campuses) project (contract number 500-10-049), conducted by the California Institute for Energy and Environment. The information from the SPEED project contributes to the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER)'s Buildings End-Use Efficiency Program.

Case Study: Adaptive Parking Lot Lighting

Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Measured Performance Case Study: Science & Engineering Building I, UC Merced

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The University of California at Merced (UC Merced) is one of the first new research universities to be developed in the 21st Century. UC Merced aims to be a model for environmental stewardship and sustainable design, with its facilities serving as a living laboratory for the interdisciplinary study ofresource conservation and engineering. As the tenth campus of the UC system, UC Merced will be one of the most laboratory-intensive campuses, with up to 35% of the buildings used for laboratories and other scientific services. Opened in 2005 with just 1,000 students, the campus is plannedfor growth of up to 25,000 students over the next few decades. This 21st century campus responded to the pressing environmental concerns of climate change by setting a goal of using 50% less energy than other California state campuses. This ambitious aim has driven many aspects of the design, construction and operation of all buildings on the Merced campus. The campus pursued LEED1 silver for all...

Development and Testing of an Information Monitoring and Diagnostics System for Large Commercial Buildings

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Large commercial buildings generally do not operate at economically achievable levels of energy efficiency. Performance monitoring projects have shown whole-building energy savings of 20% or more through improved operation and maintenance practices. The opportunity for O&M savings is related to systemic problems associated with the lack of feedback available from current Energy Management and Control Systems (EMCS). Today’s EMCS are designed for control, with limited capabilities in sensing, archiving, data analysis, diagnostics, and data visualization. This paper discusses a multi-year, multi-institutional project to develop and demonstrate an Information Monitoring and Diagnostics System (IMDS). The system is designed to address common O&M problems and the needs of office building owners and property managers to address these problems. The IMDS includes about 50 points of whole-building and cooling plant data, plus a set of standard diagnostics plots to evaluate key...

Monitoring-Based Commissioning: Early Results from a Portfolio of University Campus Projects

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California Investor-Owned Energy Utilities are collaborating in an innovative new program to retro-commission campus facilities with the assistance of permanently installed energy monitoring equipment and trending capability. This monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx) effort spans 25 campuses, with nine projects for plant systems and 37 projects for buildings. Half of the buildings include laboratory or other energy-intensive space. The program is a part of the implementation of the UC Green Building and Clean Energy Policy, the similar CSU policy, and the California Investor Owned Utility (IOU) customer funded Energy Efficiency Program.

Monitoring-Based Commissioning (MBCx) employs remote energy system metering with trend log capability to identify previously unrecognized inefficiencies in energy system operations, facilitate the application of diagnostic protocols, document energy savings from...

Improving the Energy Efficiency of Air Distribution Systems in New California Homes

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Thermal distribution systems represent the most promising opportunities for cost-effective energy savings in residential new construction. This paper describes the results of an unusual but on-going collaboration between the building industry, the environmental community, the research community, and the regulators to develop cost-effective, implementable procedures for improved heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) duct system design, fabrication, and installation.

The procedures were developed and their incremental costs and benefits were estimated. There are immediate heating and cooling energy savings of 12% or more obtainable from duct sealing alone at an incremental cost of approximately $250 per home. This incremental cost can decrease to zero with experience and competition.

Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program Final Project Report: State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations 2012-2014

Mon, 1 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is the final report for the State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations (originally UC/CSU Energy Efficient Campuses) project (contract number 500-10-049), conducted by the California Institute for Energy and Environment. The information from this project contributes to PIER’s Buildings End-Use Efficiency Program.

From 2004 through 2014, the State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations (SPEED) accelerated the market adoption of energy-efficient technologies. This Public Interest Energy Research Buildings End-Use Efficiency Program supported effort included lighting technologies and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) technologies. This collaboration with industry, public entities, and utilities focuses on field research, beta testing, demonstrations, and activities facilitating technology deployed by California energy-efficiency programs. This report highlights technologies and projects, and summarizes and indexes technical...

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