The presentations, news, research summaries, reports, and technology overviews are collected here by focus area and represent the body of work developed by the CBEI partners during the 5-year project period. For additional information on market challenges, approach, and impacts, see each focus area overview.
This project develops a calibrated occupant behavior module that aids building design & operation by simulating user impacts on energy use.
For the past two years, the Better Buildings Energy Data Accelerator has been supporting pairs of local governments and their local utility companies to help building owners gain access to their building energy data.
A CBEI team of researchers led by Jim Braun of Purdue University has successfully implemented the use of virtual sensors within a low-cost microprocessor.
Local building codes regulate new construction and repair, alteration, addition, and change of use in existing buildings. The latter, change of occupancy classification or use, is a common trigger for requiring an existing building to comply with the current building code requirements.
BRT is a systematic process to identify and correct building operational problems that lead to energy waste. It is implemented at no- or low-cost other than the labor required to perform the Re-Tuning process.
The Department of Energy worked with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and industry stakeholders to develop the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines, voluntary national guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials for four key energy-related jobs: Building Energy Auditor, Building Commissioning Professional, Building Operations Professional and Energy Manager.
A virtual sensor system (compatible with the VOLTTRON platform) has been designed and an initial
prototype has been tested.
The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is the national model energy code adopted by many states and municipal governments in the United States. It establishes the minimum design and construction “requirements for energy efficiency that new buildings – as well as additions and renovations to existing buildings – must meet wherever the code has been adopted into law.
The Navy Yard Electric Utility (TNYEU) is very interested in making energy efficiency retrofits easier for TNY’s building owners and tenants to implement, and thus support its energy reduction goal.
The Asset Score Tool (AST) is a quick and easy way to determine the overall energy efficiency of your building's physical characteristics and corresponding energy consumption independent of occupant behavior.
The often high initial cost of energy efficiency improvements remains a challenge for many customers, despite their many advantages. Financing projects conventionally can be difficult for both commercial and residential property owners, due to a number of factors including substandard underwriting practices by lenders, inappropriate payback calculations, and uncertainty about how to quantify cost-savings.
Performance-based (also known as outcome-based) codes set standards based upon buildings’ actual energy use, rather than on compliance with stipulated technology or design features. For example, a performance-based code would require meeting specified energy use intensity, while a standard, prescriptive code would stipulate a minimum wall insulation level among other specific measures.
The energy use in commercial buildings is not constant. It changes with the seasons, from year to year, as tenants come and go, and with changes to building components. Building science researchers know that the energy performance of commercial buildings declines over time – different parts of the system start to age and building occupants invariably alter the “optimal” settings.
The EEB Hub held its first Occupant-Led Energy Efficiency Workshop on January 14, 2014. This event convened representatives from eight innovative, energy-focused companies, EEB Hub researchers, and a large portfolio holding company, to discuss the current state of technology that engages tenants with energy efficiency in commercial buildings.