Recently in Research Category

A new study by energy efficiency company, Johnson Controls Inc.,  took a look at the effect workplace comfort has on employee productivity and energy conservation.

"Employers may be tempted to turn down the thermostats this fall, but this quick fix could lead to hidden costs," said Clay Nesler, Johnson Controls' vice president. "Energy efficient systems and equipment is the win-win alternative, allowing businesses to save energy and money without sacrificing workplace productivity."

• 69% of the 800 US office workers surveyed for the study said they are "willing to sacrifice" their preferred ideal temperature on the job if that helps conserve energy.
  
• 45% said they think their employers are not doing enough to make their offices more energy efficient.
• 78% of workers said their productivity falls when they feel too cold or too hot at the office
• 98% said their offices are too hot or too cold at some point.

Solutions to Workplace Comfort

The study found that as a result

• 49% said they use a fan when they feel too hot,
  
• 28%  use a space heater
• 30% said they leave their office building to warm up or cool down by taking a walk.
• 41% report their discomfort to an office manager or facilities worker
• 69% try to remedy the situation by adding or removing a layer of clothing.

The findings provide further insight into employee behavior and workplace conditions.

Many homes have moisture, combustion safety or indoor air quality problem that result from inadequate or non-functional energy systems.

• It is estimated that 40% of basements in Canada are damp and for children, the health effect of living in damp environments is equal to exposure to secondhand smoke (Fugler 2007).
• One in 15 homes in the US has elevated radon.
• 64 million homes have lead-based paint somewhere in the building.
• Over 20 million Americans have asthma and in 1990, asthma was the cause of 4500 deaths annually.  Many asthma triggers are found in indoor environments.

Energy improvements can potentially exacerbate or create new problems as well as fix existing problems.  We need a trained workforce to properly install energy efficiency projects.

Information and misinformation abounds and is often contradictory.  This can be overwhelming for home owners.

In many cases, true efficiency improvements are not the function of mere presence of a high efficiency product -- but rather, its appropriateness and correct installation.

Certification and quality assurance programs offered by organization help support a trained workforce.  These organizations offer programs:

• NATE
• BPI
• ACCA
• EPA Home Performance
• Energy Star

Three paradigms influence residential energy efficiency efforts:

1. the products
2. whole house or home performance
3. sustainability strategies

Product Rebate Programs

Products that sport rebates for high-efficiency models such as Energy Star rated appliances, CFLs, LEDs and high performance air conditioners can lower product costs and increase adoption.

Rebate programs can ramp up quickly, are easy to deploy, and fairly easy to evaluate.  While widget-based rebate programs have relatively low savings per unit, the high nuber of units and low per-unit transaction cost can yield significant and cost-effective energy reductions, particularly if the market is truly transformed after the removal of the incentive. 

One problem of rebate programs is that they usually do not address site-specific selection/application, installation, measure interaction or deal with side effects.  Because of these limitations, rebates can sometimes result in lost opportunities for more significant alternatives and create negative side effects.

Home Performance Programs
 
The whole house or home performance paradigm focuses on building system performance ith energy reduction as one part of the greater whole.  To date, whole house programs have mostly been delivered through low-income programs and are beginning to filter into for-profit energy efficiency programs. 

Typical costs range from $3-$35,000 per house; and energy reductions range from 5-35%.

A home performance job may include work and cost tht is directed to solving problems such as correcting a wet basement or crawl space, which may not generate direct energy savings.

Sustainable Paradigm
Current and long erm impact on the community and larger environment are considered in a sustainable paradigm that assesses the life cycle of building components and products consumed in house operation.  Land use, water use, and site environmental impact, as well as building durability and energy use are examined.  This is a "green building" approach.

Interest in USGBC and ASID's green guideline for existing homes, REGREEN, released in 2008 has exceeded the expectation of the developers (Yost 2008).

Deep Energy Reduction Paradigm

The deep energy reduction paradigm builds on the strengths of the previous paradigms.  The deep energy paradigm fits well in a sustainable paradigm that incorporates a design centered approach and inclusion of impacts beyond the homeowner's site.

While many strategies can be used to achieve deep energy reductions, universal principles are emerging.  To summarize them:

• A systems approach is necessary to optimize on-site and off-site benefits and interactions
• Good indoor air quality and building durability are integral elements
• Performance must be verified with a combination of diagnostic equipment and actual measurement of all benefits.
• Occupant behavior and community solutions are an integral part of the strategy
• Deep energy reductions should be viewed as an ongoing process to ensure proper maintenance and operation
• A trigger event can capture opportunities as they emerge, ie: roof, siding or HVAC system replacements.

It's important to identify and target communities or situations that offer the combination of lowest costs and/or greatest benefits, access to resources and motivated occupants.

SOURCE:  Linda Wigington, Affordable Comfort, Inc; "Deep Energy Reductions in Existing Homes; Strategies for Implementation"

Deep energy reduction is needed in the vast majority of housing stock.  To weatherize homes is to save energy and make homes more comfortable...and that saves money for the homeowner and the utility infrastructure.

• Energy use in the residential sector accounts for 21% of both the US energy use and carbon emissions, according to the Energy Information Agency.
• There are 124 million dwellings in the US and 13 million dwelings in Canada according to Community Solutions (2007). 
• It is estimated that 60% of the homes that will be present in 2050 are in existence today (NREL 2006). 
• In 2006, $228 billion was invested in US home improvements.

Those are the basic facts that homeowners and industry providers have to work with.

Motivations for weatherization -- optimizing energy use in homes stems from rising energy costs and the need to reduce GHG -- greenhouse gas emissions. 

Affordable Comfort proposes that it is possible to cut energy use in existing North American homes by 70-90%.  The benefits of weatherization, or "deep energy reduction" can deliver benefits over the life of a dwelling -- both cost savings, and comfort of residents with higher indoor air quality and durability.  

Such deep energy strategies require more than technology -- they also require behavioral choices and community-based strategies. 

An ACI Summit was held in 2007 that resulting in a sharing of strategies to promote "deep energy reductions" by 100 housing, building science and energy efficiency experts.

Building industry assumptions are being redefined based on the confluence of political, social, environmental and technical concerns being raised and examined.  Transforming the physical and institutional infrastructure to support rather than threaten community sustainability is seen as necessary...but challenging.

Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Solutions

The solutions lie in how we design, construct, finance, maintain, operate and renovate our homes that have the unrelenting habit of becoming outmoded and inefficient over their useful life spans.

Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Reality Check

We've come to accept several flawed assumptions that have resulted in choices that have been made...such as poorly insulated houses:

Flaw:  The supply and cost of energy and water are predictable.
Reality: In many regions energy and potable water supplies are becoming less certain and more costly. 

Flaw:  Climate and weather events are stable.
Reality:  The earth is a volatile, ever moving planet, and increasingly disruptive weather events (severe rain, wind, ice storms and drought) are predicted to worsen with climate change.
 
Flaw: Energy use is value neutral and our patterns of use and energy sources have no ethical or environmental consequences.
Reality:  The costs of geopolitical conquest, conflict, greenhouse gases and the environmental impact of extraction, generation and consumption are not reflected in the price we pay for energy.  Subsidies for harmful forms of energy have encouraged waste, abuse and economic impacts far beyond the sectors of the economy that focus on energy.     
 
Flaw:  New construction will save the day.
Reality:  It's easy to assume that new building codes would exceed former requirements.  However, the average energy consumption for household in new housing is greater, and growing, than the average energy use of existing homes. 

Flaw:  Energy and other resources are not connected.
Reality:  The link between water and energy has been overlooked.  In the US, one half gallon of water is used to produce each kWh of electricity and 20% of the annual stationary energy consumption is needed to pump, treat, and process potable water and waste water. 

"Saving energy saves water AND saving water saves energy."  Klein 2008)

Flaw:  Energy use can be measures on a per square foot basis.
Reality:  Trends in increasing house size, fewer people per household, and increased use of electricity rather than direct use of fuels are neutralizing the significant efficiency gains that have resulted from better codes, appliance standards, and increased use of energy efficient lighting.

Flaw:  Buildings don't last forever!
Reality:  Buildings represent 85% of the US fixed capital assets with a life expectancy of 50 to 100 years.  They hav ethe slowest turnover of any major kind of infrastructure (Lovins 2007).  Existing homes represent a huge resource and potential for reduced energy use.

Flaw:  Technology will save us!
Reality:  To succeed, a critical complex web of perceptual changes are needed.    We need many strategies that tap our capacity to envision, think, act, create, and implement solutions.  We need strategies that empower the population and industries, informs us as citizens, and provides transparency with feedback processes that make it easy to measure usage and progress against a goal.  We also need to ensure accountability of all stakeholders.   And we need flexibility to accomodate local and regional variables that result from America's vast array of weather patterns, natural resources, economies of scale...and diversity.   
 
Reference: Linda Wigington, Affordable Comfort, Inc (ACI)

Initial results from a research study in East Tennessee shows that energy-efficient upgrades can pay off for homeowners by reducing heating costs by 35 to 65%.

"The retrofit unit provided 35% measured heating energy savings from the builder home, yet offers a package of technologies that are considered to be a reasonable upgrade for many homes in the United States," says Jeff Christian,  Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

While the study focuses on improvements to existing homes new, unoccupied homes were used in order to keep the results as unbiased as possible.

The houses are typical two-story models built on insulated slabs with similar solar orientation, lot slope, wall areas, wind exposure and size.

The study uses three similar homes in the same development to gather real-world data about various energy-efficient improvements that can be made to an existing home.  The study is sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority and is being conducted in cooperation with researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Computers and instrumentation are programmed to simulate occupancy, including opening refrigerator doors, automatic clothes washing and drying, showers, lights and plug loads in all three homes. But that's where the similarities end.

The Control Home
The control or builder home was built to meet current building codes and earned a Home Energy Rating System score of 90, slightly better than a typical code-compliant home. It is equipped with two heat pumps, one for each floor, that have a total capacity of 4.5 tons.

The Retrofit House
The retrofit house includes energy-efficient upgrades that focus on the building envelope and mechanical equipment. These allowed the HVAC system to be reduced to one, three-ton heat pump located inside the conditioned envelope. The retrofit home earned a HERS rating of 66 - a better score than the builder's home.


Energy Improvements
Improvements to the home include installing

• low-E gas-filled windows
• changing all light bulbs to compact fluorescents
• replacing the ceiling insulation with spray polyurethane foam insulation on the underside of the roof deck and attic walls to make it an unvented, semi-conditioned space.

Attic-based HVAC Configurations
"An unvented attic is particularly helpful in climates where heating and cooling equipment is located in the attic," said Chris Porter, building science manager for BioBased Insulation®. "Modifying the attic to create an indirectly conditioned space helps significantly reduce energy consumption and improves mechanical equipment performance."

BioBased Insulation® donated the insulation for the study, and Endless Supply, a BioBased Insulation® certified dealer based in Ashville, NC, donated the labor to install the product.

Deep Retrofit Home
High-performance improvements to the third home made it a near zero energy home with a HERS rating of 34 and a measured space heating energy savings of 65 percent compared to the builder home.

While more extensive, some of the improvements could still be made to a deep retrofit of an existing home. They included,

• 2.5 kW solar panels,
• solar hot water heater,
• triple-layered windows with an R-value of 7,
• structurally insulated sheathing and
• BioBased Insulation® in the walls,
• R49 attic insulation with radiant barrier sheathing.
• The builder was able to downsize to one, two-ton heat pump because of the envelope improvements.

"With three houses with actual identical simulated occupancy we will have research capabilities that are world-unique," Christian said. "And the really exciting thing is that these homes will be available for research for seven years, so we will be able to replace, test and accelerate the development of even more efficient technologies."

How much do energy-efficient upgrades cost?

The upgrades included in the retrofit home cost $4 per square foot or about $9,800 more than the control home.

Upgrades to the near zero energy home cost $21 per square foot or $51,576 more than the control home.

Payback and ROI
Based simply on projected energy savings, homeowners who implement the retrofit upgrades would recoup their costs in 8.5 years.

It will take homeowners who implement the near zero energy upgrades 22 years to recoup their costs.

While the current round of results includes the heating season only, monitoring will continue during summer, and results for a full year of the homes' operation should be available this fall.

Rebates and Tax Deductions
"We're excited to be part of the study," Porter said. "Recently we've seen an increase in the number of homeowners taking advantage of the $1,500 Federal Tax deduction and other rebate programs. Many are doing upgrades similar to those found in these test houses. Even though these are only initial results, they are still very helpful in quantifying the energy savings from these retrofit options."

The living standards of U.S. households are traditionally measured by income.

This report takes a different approach.

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

It measures living standards in terms of extended measures of well-being of households tracked in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to help deepen our knowledge about household conditions in ways not captured by money alone.

Some aspects of well-being, such as fear of crime or quality of local public services, may be only loosely connected with money. Other measures are more closely related to income but can also be effected by factors such as the cost of living, age, disability status, and sudden changes in circumstances.

Extended measures of well-being provide a more complete and detailed picture of household living conditions in the United States than income alone provides.

Well-being Metrics

The U.S. Census Bureau tracks extended measures of well-being in the SIPP.2.  The SIPP's "Extended Measures of Well-Being" topical module, on which this report is based, covers five broad domains:

(1) appliances and electronic goods, such as possession of refrigerators, landline and cellular telephones, and computers;

(2) housing conditions, including level of satisfaction with overall home repair, adequate living space, and sufficient privacy;

(3) neighborhood conditions and community services, such as: road conditions and the presence of abandoned buildings; satisfactory police, fire, and medical services; and attitudes towards local schools;

(4) meeting basic needs, including the ability to pay bills in full, to avoid eviction, and to have sufficient food; and

(5) the expectation of help, should need arise, from friends, family, and the community. For this report, extended measures of well-being are used to describe living conditions in the United States for the time period 1992-2003.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) works with industry and organizations to transfer renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies into the marketplace.

NREL offers  opportunities and ways for you to partner with the DOE. Learn more about  technology partnership agreements and services:

• Cooperative Research and Development Agreements
• Technologies Available for Licensing
• Technology Partnerships
• Work for Others
• Research Facilities

NREL also help promote the economic development of clean energy technologies, including the development of business connections and networks for entrepreneurs. As part of these efforts, NREL hosts the Industry Growth Forum.

NREL follows its principles for establishing mutually beneficial technology partnerships.

Principles

NREL develops and implements technology partnerships based on the standards established by the following principles:

Balancing Public and Private Interest

Form partnerships that serve the public interest and advance U.S. Department of Energy goals. Demonstrate appropriate stewardship of publicly funded assets, yielding national benefits. Provide value to the commercial partner.

Focusing on Outcomes

Develop mutually beneficial collaborations through processes, which are timely, flexible, efficient, and compliant with requirements. Align actions with business outcomes.

Reflecting Core Values

Conduct technology partnership processes through professional practices, action, and a respect for duty. Align with the fundamental values of honesty, integrity, fairness, stewardship, and quality.

Creating Transparency

Make goals, processes, and the availability of intellectual assets transparent. Keep partners informed of decisions and the status of actions as agreements are developed.

Ensuring Confidentiality

Maintain deep respect for proprietary business information and data.

Seeking Continuous Improvement

Measure, monitor, and seek feedback about processes and outcomes. Use this information to improve processes and practices.

Technologies Available for Licensing

• Advanced Vehicle and Fuels
• Basic Sciences
• Biomass
• Buildings
• Geothermal
• Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
• Solar
• Wind
• All Technologies

Contact Richard Bolin at (303) 275-3028 to learn more about licensing NREL technologies.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of DOE's national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NETL supports DOE's mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.

NETL implements a broad spectrum of energy and environmental research and development (R&D) programs that will return benefits for generations to come:

• Enabling domestic coal, natural gas, and oil to economically power our Nation's homes, industries, businesses, and transportation ...
• While protecting our environment and enhancing our energy independence.

NETL has expertise in coal, natural gas, and oil technologies, contract and project management, analysis of energy systems, and international energy issues.

NETL
NETL.DOE.GOV for Energy R&D

Offices:

U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory
PITTSBURGH, PA 626 Cochrans Mill Road P.O. Box 10940 Pittsburgh, PA   15236-0940	MORGANTOWN, WV 3610 Collins Ferry Road P.O. Box 880 Morgantown, WV   26507-0880
TULSA, OK One West Third Street Suite 1400 Tulsa, OK  74103-3519	FAIRBANKS, AK 2175 University Avenue South, Suite 201 Fairbanks, AK 99709
ALBANY, OR 1450 Queen Avenue SW Albany, OR 97321-2198

David Rodgers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency , appeared before Congress to discuss the potential for increased energy efficiency in new and existing buildings to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Public Education and Outreach for Market Penetration

The Department of Energy is also focusing on broad public education and outreach in order to facilitate widespread market penetration of energy efficient technologies

Public campaigns, such as the "Change a Light, Change the World" campaign, have been used to drive public awareness. Each fall the Department, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, encourages consumers to change out old incandescent bulbs for new compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) that have earned the ENERGY STAR seal of approval. The "Change a Light, Change the World campaign" is now in its seventh year.

DOE Outreach Partnership with Walt Disney

In order to further encourage consumer adoption of energy efficient technologies like compact fluorescent lamps, DOE has embarked upon an innovative partnership with the Walt Disney Corporation. DOE announced in 2007 that it had teamed up with Disney in a nationwide campaign to promote energy efficiency through a TV spot based on the Disney Pixar film "Ratatouille." The 30-second animated spot features the characters from the movie, and urges viewers to make the switch from incandescent bulbs to ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent lights. The spot, showcased nationwide during primetime viewing hours, reached more than 117 million households between June 15 and August 15, 2007, through networks including HGTV, Food Network, and DIY.

DOE Campaign to Target 8 to 12 Year Old Children

Also, we are working on a campaign to be launched late this summer targeting 8 to 12 years old on they can  learn to become more energy efficient.

DOE Military Base Campaign

Another campaign, launched this past Earth Day, challenges military bases nationwide to replace their incandescent light bulbs with CFLs in on-base housing. The joint DOE and Department of Defense campaign, called "Operation Change Out," will help bases across the country increase energy efficiency, save money on utility bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

DOE Influences Policymakers, Industry and Consumers

Through these and other campaigns, the Department is committed to motivating policymakers, industry, and consumers to embrace energy efficiency values in their states, cities, and homes.

DOE Building Technologies Program Best Practices Website

The Department's Building Technologies Program website is also a helpful educational resource for the public.

The site details best practice guidelines for realizing 30% energy savings, and is aimed at homeowners, builders, or designers who seek to incorporate energy-efficient building practices into a new or existing home.

The Building Technologies guidelines address each step of the home-building process, based on an integrated or whole building, approach. They cover the planning and financing of a home or renovation project, the design and construction phase, and ongoing maintenance. While many best practice guidelines apply regardless of geography, others are tailored to the challenges of a specific climate zone, a key consideration in creating an energy-efficient home.

SOURCE: 
Testimony of David Rodgers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency before the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, United States House of Representatives. Topic: Buildings Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gases, July 17, 2008, EERE Energy Efficiency

DOE's second area of focus is ensuring that consumers and businesses have energy efficient choices in energy consuming equipment, appliances and lighting. This can be achieved by making appliance standards more stringent, and by accelerating the market penetration of advanced lighting, equipment and appliances.

I am proud to say we have met 100% of our appliance standards targets since we committed to a new schedule for them in January 2006. The Department is currently working on nine standard rulemakings affecting 18 products. By this time next year we will have initiated another four rulemakings, affecting at least 5 additional products. This represents a pace substantially more aggressive than at any prior time in our history.

We have also taken internal measures to improve and accelerate the standards-setting process. In February, we asked the Congress for the authority to streamline the rulemaking process and allow DOE to go to a direct final rule for certain products when a clear consensus for a standard exists among manufacturers, efficiency advocates, the government, and other stakeholders. This process could reduce the time required to reach a completed standard by as much as one-third.

ENERGY STAR Modernization by DOE and EPA

To help accelerate market penetration of advanced appliances, DOE is pursuing the modernization and expansion of ENERGY STAR® to accommodate the increasingly rapid flow and evolution of high efficiency technologies like solid state lighting, tankless water heaters, and solar products.

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling and recognition program jointly administered by DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that seeks to accelerate the adoption of clean and efficient domestic energy technologies.

The ENERGY STAR label helps businesses and consumers easily identify highly-efficient products, homes, and buildings that save energy and money while reducing the pollution from power generation.

For example, earlier this year, DOE announced more stringent criteria for clothes washers and expanded the categories of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL) under the ENERGY STAR label.

• Based on first-year projected sales data, approximately 1.9 million ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washers will be sold, saving American families up to $90 million annually on their water and utility bills. This translates to roughly 0.5 MMT of C02 annually.
  
• CFL products under the ENERGY STAR label--which include new categories for CFLs containing less mercury, new candelabra products, and more rigorous testing procedures--are expected to save Americans approximately $30 billion in utility costs over the next five years.
  

More stringent criteria, combined with a greater diversity of energy-saving product options, will allow Americans to more efficiently use energy in their homes,

In April, 2008 the Department announced new ENERGY STAR criteria for water heaters, the first in the history of the program.

Water heating currently represents up to 17% of national residential energy consumption, making it the third largest energy user in homes, behind heating and cooling and kitchen appliances.

SOURCE: 
Testimony of David Rodgers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency before the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, United States House of Representatives. Topic: Buildings Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gases, July 17, 2008, http://www1.eere.energy.gov/office_eere/rodgers_testimony_071708.html

Weatherization equipment is improving in efficiency with the advent of aerosol-spray technique developed and tested with DOE funding.
 
Aerosol-Spray Technology for Air Duct Sealing

Best practices air duct sealing using aerosol-spray technology was developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) with funding from DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and others. The University of California (which manages LBNL) was granted a patent in 1999 on this technology.

Aeroseal Exclusive Patent Licensee on Residential and Small Buildings 

Aeroseal now holds an exclusive license to use this technology on residential and small commercial buildings.

Although the technology itself was developed by LBNL, Aeroseal developed the current version of the equipment and software used in the field test to apply the technology in the field. Aeroseal began licensing the technology in January 1999 to a limited number of experienced HVAC contractors in different geographic and market areas through a franchise arrangement.

The cost of a franchise is about $20,000. This cost includes the equipment, software, and training on how to implement the technology. Under the franchise agreement, the franchisee must meet minimum production quotas set by Aeroseal, provide Aeroseal with data collected on each house sealed using the technology for quality control purposes, and pay Aeroseal a royalty fee for each house sealed using the technology.

Conventional Best Practices Air Duct Equipment

For the conventional, best-practice approach, several national manufacturers produce duct blowers and related equipment to duplicate the diagnostics performed in this field test. The cost of duct blowers are about $2000.

Training for Best Practices Weatherization
 
Training on the conventional, best-practice approaches used in this field test using a duct blower can probably be obtained from the manufacturer for a fee and is also often provided at national energy conferences.

Aeroseal, a division of Carrier Corp.
Carrier Parkway, TR-2
PO Box 4802
Syracuse, NY  13221
http://www.aeroseal.com/

ENERGY STAR^TM
Recommends Duct Sealing

SOURCE:

"Field Test of Advanced Duct-Sealing Technologies within the Weatherization Assistance Program" November 2001; Mark P. Ternes, Ho-Ling Hwang.  Prepared by the
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. A copy of the complete research report is at:  http://weatherization.ornl.gov/Publications.htm