The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $42 million in project selections to support early-stage research and development (R&D) of innovative residential and commercial building technologies for energy efficiency.

Buildings use 75% of U.S. electricity and account for 40% of U.S. overall energy use. Energy efficiency is a key driver of overall economic efficiency and part of DOE’s mission to increase energy affordability and energy security. The technology developed from these early-stage R&D projects is designed to help consumers and businesses save energy costs and drive domestic economic competitiveness.

A total of 46 research teams were selected as a result of three fiscal year 2018 funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office.

Major focus areas under each FOA include:

• Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies – 19 selections for $19.5 million dollars
  • Advanced separation technologies for dehumidification
  • Innovative materials for thermal insulation
  • High performance windows
  • Advanced controls and automation in building energy management
  • Innovative technologies using natural gas
• Solid State Lighting – 11 selections for $11 million
  • Core technology research for LEDs and organic LEDs (OLEDs)
  • Proof-of-concept and prototype development for LEDs and OLEDs
  • Advanced manufacturing R&D focuses on chemistry and physics of LED/OLED panel fabrication
• Building America – 16 selections for $11.5 million
  • Development and validation of high performance residential envelope systems that provide moisture management and validation of high performance envelope specifications for performance and durability
  • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) installation and performance
  • Gap analysis of building industry standard practices

For more information on the selections visit the Energy Department’s Building Technologies Office web site.

A note from NEEC’s Executive Director:

NEEC was in Olympia this week testifying in support of the SB 5293, the Clean Buildings Bill.  As you might recall, Governor Inslee announced this bill in early December at our offices in the Smart Buildings Center when he announced his 2019 Clean Energy package. Our built environment is an important part of the strategy for reducing carbon emissions in the state as much as it is a contributor to the problem, and we are thrilled to see the legislature take up this issue and recognize the important role buildings play in decarbonizing the state. The bill has many components, but of note to our membership, it will establish a commercial building performance standard for buildings of 50,000 square feet or larger and provide for a utility administered incentive program as building owners undertake efforts to bring their buildings into compliance with the standard. This week’s hearing was the first of what we expect will be several hearings on the pathway to passing this important legislation. While NEEC will be there every step of the way, I can’t underscore the value your voices have in communicating the business community’s support for this bill. I was proud to testify beside two NEEC member companies as they voiced their support, and I hope to testify beside many more of you in subsequent hearings. If you have any interest in testifying in a hearing, please send me a note at [email protected]. And if testifying in person isn’t possible, there are many ways to voice your support including submitting written testimony, signing onto a letter of support, and for those of you located in Washington state, writing to your representatives in the legislature.

Below are some talking points for legislator outreach:

Hello Rep./Sen. XYZ,

My name is                    and I am a constituent of the ___th district. I am an employee of ___________. As an employee of _______________, I wanted to express my support for the Governor’s Clean Buildings package and encourage you to sign-on as a co-sponsor. This package takes a comprehensive look at energy efficiency policy in our state and brings forward some critical pieces of new policy that help Washingtonians lower their utility bills, reduce their emissions, and keep their homes and businesses comfortable and resilient. There are a number of components to this bill, but I wanted to particularly highlight my support for the large commercial building performance standard and incentive program. This policy would address the largest and worst performing commercial buildings to help them retrofit and reduce emissions, and the infusion of state incentives would accelerate achievement and encourage new jobs in the retrofit market.

You can use this site to find the legislator for your district: https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/  

According to research done by Memoori (a Smart Buildings Research organization), there have been over 600 active new entrants in the smart buildings commercial sector since 2009.  Memoori has recently published a report that demonstrates the critical contribution that Startups are making to the introduction of innovation in the Smart Buildings space.

According to Memoori, 2018 has proved to be a record year for investment, with over $2.4 billion invested in startups in the smart buildings sector.  This shows increased confidence by investors in the sector and indicates the positive response that companies are receiving for their products and services in the market.

The report provides a comprehensive evaluation of startup companies in the smart buildings space.  Among the 64 charts provided in the full report, Memoori identifies some interesting analytics such as the Top 5 Segments by Number of Startups (BIoT platforms contains the most startups since 2009), as well as the Top 15 Startups by Total Funding (with View Dynamic Glass as the leader in investment funding).

A summary of the report is available here, and the full report is available for purchase here.

The below text is directly from www.neea.org.  

NEEA operates on 5-year plans and has just concluded a two-year collaborative outreach process in developing the Business and Strategic Plans for the next cycle, beginning in 2020.

On behalf of its Board of Directors, staff and stakeholders across the region, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is pleased to present its 2020-2024 Strategic and Business Plans. NEEA’s Board has unanimously approved these plans after a two-year collaborative outreach process, establishing the alliance’s primary purpose: To pool resources and share risks to transform the market for energy efficiency to the benefit of consumers in the Northwest.

The Plan incorporates both electric and natural gas market transformation efforts expands the metrics for measuring alliance success and builds on regional research efforts such as the groundbreaking End Use Load Research study, which will inform future, data-driven energy efficiency planning in the region. And, by providing flexibility in how the alliance transforms markets to realize the full benefits of energy efficiency as the Northwest’s least-cost resource, the Plan paves the way for sustained market change moving forward.

Click here for a full copy of the 2020 – 2024 Strategic and Business Plans

The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is hiring two Resource Conservation Managers (RCMs) to provide comprehensive energy and utility management services for public sector clients. The positions are part of the RCM program team, whose goal is to help clients reduce energy, carbon emissions, and operational costs.

Closing date is January 31, 2019.  Clink on the link below for more information.

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/2303890/resource-conservation-manager