SBC staff, Author at Smart Buildings Center

AESP Seeking Input on Flexible Demand Management Workforce Training, Update

February 7, 2023 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center has partnered with the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) on an exciting project that will change the future of energy workforce development, and we are looking for your input.

AESP is developing free, online, flexible demand management workforce training and needs your feedback on the proposed course outline.

UPDATE: This is a re-post of our January 18th blog post, the deadline is lifted. If you haven’t yet provided feedback consider taking a few minutes to do so now.

To give feedback, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BENEFIT-NEEC

The initial course content plan addresses critical gaps in flexible demand management workforce education. Whether you are new to the field or have years of experience, you stand to benefit; this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to rapidly upskill our entire community in demand management. To get it right, we need to know if the proposed course curriculum meets YOUR specific needs.

WSU Building HEROes Podcast

January 26, 2023 By SBC staff

Recently Melanie Danuser, Smart Buildings Center Director of Education & Training, and Rebecca Sheppard, Smart Buildings Center Senior Project Manager, sat down with the staff of the Washington State University Integrated Design + Construction Laboratory (ID+CL) to discuss the mission and vision of the mission division of Northwest Energy Efficiency Council, Smart Building Center programs and the Building Operator Certification trainings. ID+CL and NEEC are partnering with Northeastern University to develop and launch curriculum focused on grid interactive efficient buildings, and how to engage occupants as buildings get smarter. Listen here on apple podcast, the WSU website, or the embed below.

In many ways, a building’s efficiency relies heavily on the building operator. In this episode, WSU spends time with Melanie and Rebecca learning about the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council. They focus on improving the energy efficiency of buildings through training and resources for building operators in the PNW.

The U.S. Department of Energy Announces the Buildings Upgrade Prize

January 18, 2023 By SBC staff

The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America with winning ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage billions of dollars in funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, utility rebate programs, and many other sources to upgrade our existing buildings and help address climate change,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “Transforming existing buildings is a complex task. Each building has its own set of needs related to size, use, age, location, and more—there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Buildings UP is designed to build capacity within multi-stakeholder teams to develop a variety of solutions and drive the implementation of effective building upgrade initiatives across the country.”

Visit the US Department of Energy website or learn more about the Buildings UP Prize.

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