Projects:
Program: Energy Use in Buildings

Active

This national collaborative promotes state-of-the-art building technician education in managing building systems and energy use. The Center provides model curricula, professional development for instructors, career pathways for students & career-changers, and dissemination of research to advance building technician education for sustainable building performance.

Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) CenterRead More »

Completed

This multi-disciplinary UC Berkeley-led research collaboration is Changing the Rules focusing on building occupants rather than rigid engineering of building environments to be consistent with comfort “norms”. The research project aims to integrate new information technologies into innovative, occupant-responsive control systems building heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls, employing improved sensing and new capabilities for information feedback among the building, its operators, and its occupants.

Changing the Rules: Innovative Low-Energy Occupant-Responsive HVAC Controls & SystemsRead More »

Completed

The Hamilton project will create a low-cost sensor that is securely integrated with building Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), lighting, plugloads, as well as connected to the grid, will enable many kinds of applications (e.g., diagnostics, demand response) that will reduce energy consumption and improve occupant comfort and satisfaction.

Hamilton SensorsRead More »

Active

Behavioral adaptations enabled through optimized settings and advanced algorithms is the easiest and possibly most cost-effective method to address HVAC energy use. A low-cost HVAC controller with a very simple user interface (UI) that understands occupant comfort preferences and manages indoor conditions to optimize energy use, without requiring connection to the Internet, could overcome the economic and technology barriers.

Intelligent HVAC Controls for Low Income HouseholdsRead More »