Clean Energy Question of the Week

Are you a facility operator, energy manager, or part of the e facility management engineering or project management teams? If so, you’ve likely come across ASHRAE Guideline 36-2021, High-Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC Systems. This guideline is the industry’s first attempt to standardize best-in-class building control sequences for energy savings and more efficient building control system specification, design, and implementation.

ASHRAE Guideline 36 provides a set of standardized advanced sequences of operation for common HVAC systems. These sequences are designed to maximize the energy efficiency and performance of HVAC systems, while also meeting ASHRAE occupant thermal comfort and ventilation standards, providing control stability, and allowing for simple real-time fault detection for air handling units. More importantly, with more and more building control system manufacturers adopting the guideline, control program “libraries,” or templates that comply with the guideline, are now available for control contractors to use in projects. This can greatly reduce the time and effort of building control software implementation while minimizing the programming errors. 

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If you are looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of your HVAC systems, we encourage you to listen in to this recorded webinar ASHRAE Guideline 36: High-Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC Systems, where we focus on the  intent, benefits, and scope of ASHRAE Guideline 36, as well as the stakeholders involved in designing and implementing the guideline. The webinar also highlights the key control sequence concepts that have the greatest impact on energy savings in this guideline, including AHU static pressure resets through trim and respond method, dual-max controls for VAV terminal unit with reheat, and automated fault detection and diagnostics (AFDD) for air handling units. Finally, we discuss how to screen your buildings to see if they are a good candidate for a controls retrofit leveraging Guideline 36. Tune in today and learn from our expert presenters.

Commercial buildings have the potential to lead the way to a decarbonized, electrified future. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will accelerate these efforts in states and cities across the country. With this great opportunity comes the chance to learn best practices for scaling electrified building solutions safely, efficiently, and economically. 

In our webinar, Commercial Building Electrification Pathways, experts from across the country discuss successful strategies for commercial building electrification being adopted today. Listen in to representatives from New Buildings Institute, Slipstream, National Grid and IMEG Corp as they discuss current topics such as:

• How building codes and other policies can play a critical role in helping jurisdictions pursue carbon-neutral building policies and programs
• Case studies of critical building-scale technology solutions and products that promise to help advance buildings toward carbon neutrality in new construction and retrofits
• Electrification of the small- and medium-sized commercial and multifamily building sectors 
• Challenges and opportunities that can arise in cold climates
• How the New York State Clean Heat program is helping commercial building owners adopt cost-saving solutions

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Access the entire recording in one sitting at the Clean Energy Clearinghouse, or, if you prefer to tune in to the segments that align with your interests and work, you can do so in our learning management system, CleanEnergyTraining.org.

Heat pump technology is not new, but improvements in efficiency, along with city, state, and federal climate goals have dramatically increased their deployment across the country. Our guide, Frequently Asked Questions About Heat Pumps, contains questions most often asked about heat pumps and their role in transitioning to all-electric buildings that can be powered by clean energy. In this interactive resource, you will discover answers to topics such as:

• What are the different types of heat pumps and how do they work? 
• What are the benefits of heat pumps? 
• How do heat pumps perform in cold climates? 
• How do you  make sure your electrical service panel is correctly sized to your heat pump?
• How can policymakers enable heat pumps in affordable housing? 
• What incentives are available today for installing heat pumps? 
• And much more!

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Get answers to your questions about heat pumps, an efficient option for electric heating and cooling! Download here: Frequently Asked Questions About Heat Pumps.

Residential building electrification is a complex and rapidly evolving topic, and there are many questions and challenges that need to be addressed as we transition toward a more sustainable and decarbonized energy system. Home owners, code officials, and policy makers can consider some of the following opportunities as we begin to electrify more and more of our homes. 

1. Consider the most cost-effective way to electrify residential buildings. This includes not only the cost of the necessary equipment and infrastructure, but also the long-term operating costs and the impact on the electric grid. Cost-effective electrification can also include reducing building loads, such as upgrading home insulation or retrofitting windows to lower heating loads before they are electrified.
2. Ensure that electrification efforts are equitable and accessible to all households, including low-income and marginalized communities.
3. Find solutions to streamline the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar and energy storage, into residential electrification efforts.
4. Understand how we can manage the impact of electrification on existing building infrastructure, including wiring, electrical panels, and heating and cooling systems.
5. Become aware of the incentives and policies available to encourage adoption of electric appliances and heating and cooling systems.
6. Ensure that the necessary workforce is available and trained to support residential building electrification, including electricians, contractors, and HVAC technicians

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Addressing these questions and challenges will be critical to the successful electrification of residential buildings and the transition to a more sustainable and decarbonized energy system.For a deeper dive into these topics and more, listen to experts from across the country in this recorded webinar on Residential Building Electrification. You can expect to learn about common issues that building owners and code officials may notice  and how to resolve them; the role heat pump space and water heating technology play in the transition;, and how the SolSmart program can help communities improve permitting and inspection processes to support electrification with solar power.

Technological advancements have revolutionized the building construction and safety industry, resulting in increased efficiency and accuracy in achieving safe and resilient communities. Governments at various levels have incorporated digitization into their processes, such as online permit applications, payment of permit fees, submittal of plans, and digital plan reviews. Remote virtual inspections (RVI) have become increasingly popular in recent years and offer a valuable solution that offers numerous benefits for the building construction and safety industry, including increased efficiency, convenience, safety, accuracy, and consistency.

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The International Code Council (ICC) has developed a detailed publication, Recommended Practices for Remote Virtual Inspections (RVI), which provides comprehensive guidance on RVI implementation and administration, making it easy for Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) to incorporate these procedures into their inspection processes. You can also get access to a free checklist, Remote Virtual Inspection Protocols and Checklist for Residential Energy Code Inspections, which covers the process for inspecting residential projects complying with the 2018 or 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. 

Implementing a building control system in the field can involve a mechanical engineer, controls engineer, controls technician, electrical contractor, testing and balancing contractor, and commissioning agent. Understanding the relationship between all these roles can go a long way toward helping a project go smoothly.

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In this CEU bearing course, you will learn how facility staff can participate during the controls implementation process and how an understanding of the implementation process can improve the long-term performance of the control system and the building in general. 

Building electrification is the process of moving from fossil fuel-powered buildings to electric-powered buildings. Systems within the electrified building, such as space heating, water heating, cooking appliances, and laundry, would be powered by electricity. These are necessary steps for buildings to achieve 100 percent clean, renewable energy and align with state and municipal climate goals. Cities, counties, and states will have different approaches to policies and incentives toward implementing an electric-only strategy. Already, a quarter of U.S. homes are all-electric, and across the country many communities are adopting ordinances as an update to their adopted energy codes.

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The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, through this report, has put together examples of municipalities with some level of electrification requirements for new residential and commercial buildings, as well as specific proposed code language that any community can adopt to help reach zero carbon in new buildings. Check it out!

As demand increases for efficient, resilient, and durable buildings, construction materials and technologies are rapidly evolving. There are multiple clean energy technologies that we will begin to see more widely on buildings as a result of the growing clean energy industry and federal funding.

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This five-minute video provides an introduction to grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB) and associated clean energy technologies.