Blog - Smart Buildings Center

Upcoming MEEA Webinar 5/30: Engaging Operations and Maintenance Staff in ESG and Building Performance Standard Compliance

May 16, 2024 By SBC staff

Join MEEA for an upcoming webinar:

🔹 Engaging Operations and Maintenance Staff in ESG and Building Performance Standard Compliance
📆 Thursday, May 30 at 12 p.m. CT

Panelists, Malachi R., Melanie Danuser and Kathryn Eggers, will explore challenges and solutions for facility departments tasked with addressing ESG initiatives amongst financial pressures and dynamic market conditions. The discussion will assess applicable standards and their direct impact on the role of building operators.

More details can be found here: ZOOM Registration

6/5 12 -1PM Occupant Engagement Program Case Study: WSU’s Energy + Comfort Campaign

May 16, 2024 By SBC staff

A no-cost WSU Energy Program for Resource Conservation Managers, Energy Managers, and Sustainability Managers at public facilities in Washington State

Wednesday, June 5, 2024
12:00 to 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Click here to register!

With the introduction of new legislation, including the Washington State Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBSP), energy efficiency building technologies (and people) are more important than ever. This webinar highlights a unique occupant engagement program on WSU’s Pullman campus, which aims to reduce energy use and increase comfort of occupants through behavioral interventions and regular communications. We will share the rationale for this program, our campaign engagement approach, lessons learned, and next steps.

RCMs, energy managers, and those with similar responsibilities who work at Washington state public and government institutions and agencies are the intended audience. Others may attend if space allows.

Washington State University Energy Program promotes and supports RCM programs with technical assistance, hiring and job description information, monthly newsletters, website, and more.

This free webinar from Washington State University Energy Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program through the Washington State Department of Commerce Energy Division.

For more information, email [email protected].

5/22 BetterBricks Webinar: Get Your Building in Order: The Value of Strategic Sequencing

May 15, 2024 By SBC staff

BetterBricks is hosting a Webinar on the 22nd of May, don’t miss this chance to learn more about Strategic Sequencing. More info from the BetterBricks blog below, you can also find the event and registration at this link.

Recent shifts in the commercial building market, including increasingly stringent codes and standards, make it more critical than ever to future-proof your building by thoughtfully sequencing upgrades from a whole-building perspective. Using data from recent Northwest case studies, this one-hour webinar will help building owners, designers, and operators maximize cost and energy savings by:

Demonstrating how to strategically sequence building upgrades in a way that maximizes total-building value.
Introducing proven, high-performance technologies applicable to retrofits and new construction.

By adopting these approaches, building professionals will be able to meet current and emerging building performance standards (including the Washington State Clean Building Standard), plan improvements that save time, money, and energy, and enhance occupant health, comfort, well-being, and productivity.

TOMORROW 5/9: Commerce Clean Buildings Workshop (ZOOM)

May 8, 2024 By SBC staff

Workshop May 9: Clean Buildings Incentive Program Updates

Last month, the Energy Audits for Public Buildings program was launched, and House Bill (HB) 1976 signed into law.

The energy audits program is exclusively for publicly owned buildings. It is funded with $20 million to assist in the cost of ASHRAE Level 2 energy audits, where required by the Clean Buildings Performance Standard.

The audit incentive base rate is $0.50 per sq. ft. of gross floor area for Tier 1 covered buildings. This funding can be used with other opportunities, such as the Early Adopter Incentive Program.

House Bill (HB) 1976 was signed into law on March 14, authorizing Commerce to fund incentives greater than the base incentive payments for Tier 1 and Tier 2 covered buildings. Tier 1 incentives offer a base payment of $0.85 per sq. ft., while Tier 2 incentives offer $0.30 per sq. ft.

Learn more, in tomorrow’s Clean Buildings workshop. The Clean Buildings team will discuss and solicit comments on the incentive program updates, and introduce the verified energy auditor network.

WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Zoom meeting online

REGISTER

Washington State University RCM Summit

April 29, 2024 By SBC staff

Short presentations, networking, and break-out sessions for
Washington State public facility Resource Conservation Managers

Others with similar positions also encouraged to attend

Tuesday, May 7

12:00 to 3:00 PM Pacific Time

A no-cost Zoom meeting

Click here to register!

Network with your peers! We will break out into Zoom rooms by sector, including university/college, K-12, city/county/state, and other.
Listen and share ideas about asset data collection and possible software tools to support your operations & maintenance plans. Please come prepared to share about your tools, as well as their usefulness and challenges.
Bring your questions, successes, and challenges for a follow-up discussion to the March 20 2024 webinar on energy management plans and O&M programs for Clean Building requirements.
Learn about considerations and challenges for electric vehicle fleet readiness and charging stations at your Washington state facilities from a short presentation by WSU Energy Program’s Green Transportation Program Director.

RCMs, energy managers, and staff with similar positions from Washington state public and government institutions and agencies are the intended audience. We may limit attendance by others.

Washington State University Energy Program promotes and supports RCM programs with technical assistance, hiring and job description information, monthly newsletters, webinars, and more.

This free event from Washington State University Energy Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program through the Washington State Department of Commerce Energy Division.

For more information, email [email protected].

U.S. Department of Energy Announces Final Rule to Propel Federal Buildings Toward Zero Emissions

April 25, 2024 By SBC staff

As Congress Required, DOE Finalizes Standards That Decrease Emissions for New and Renovated Federal Buildings Across the Nation, Slashing Harmful Carbon Emissions by 2 Million Metric Tons

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that it has delivered on Congress’s mandate to cut emissions from new or newly renovated federal buildings through the Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings Rule. By meeting the requirements of the Rule, federal buildings will reduce pollution, improve air quality, create good-paying jobs, and take advantage of cost savings from using more energy-efficient equipment. These measures will help advance the adoption of cleaner, more efficient technologies for buildings that will lead the way to achieving President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan goal of net-zero emissions from all federal buildings by 2045.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is practicing what we preach. Just as we are helping households and businesses across the nation save money by saving energy, we are doing the same in our own federal buildings,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.

“President Biden has charged the Federal Government to lead by example by transforming its footprint of over 300,000 buildings to be more energy efficient and climate resilient, which means cleaner air and safer communities across the country,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory. “Today’s action will help our Federal Government achieve President Biden’s ambitious Federal sustainability goals while creating good-paying jobs, saving taxpayers money, and building healthier, more resilient communities.”

This Rule, which implements the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, requires federal agencies to phase out fossil fuel usage in new federal building construction or major renovation by achieving a 90% reduction in fossil fuel use for new projects started between fiscal years 2025 and 2029 and completely eliminating on-site fossil fuel usage in new projects beginning in 2030.

DOE estimates that over the next 30 years, the new rule will reduce carbon emissions from federal buildings by 2 million metric tons and methane emissions by 16 thousand tons—an amount roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by nearly 310,000 homes in one year, while also reducing infrastructure costs.

Today’s final rule, in conjunction with Executive Order 14057 and other Federal Sustainability Plan actions, including Federal Building Performance Standard, strengthens progress to achieve net-zero emissions in federal buildings by 2045 by eliminating on-site fossil fuel emissions, also known as Scope 1 emissions. DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will issue supplemental guidance that provides agencies with pathways for compliance. DOE FEMP will support agencies as they work to meet these targets by providing resources, opportunities for grant funding, training, and technical assistance.

The final rule represents the result of a robust engagement process in which DOE interacted with a wide spectrum of federal stakeholders, whose feedback was instrumental to informing the final standard. The new rule aims to accelerate clean energy deployment within the federal building stock by phasing out on-site fossil-fuel usage for end-uses such as heating and water heating.

For more information, visit the Clean Energy Rule webpage.

Workshop May 9: Clean Buildings Incentive Program Updates

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