Blog - Page 56 of 126 - Smart Buildings Center

Webinar: A National Retailer’s Decarbonization Journey with BrainBox AI

February 13, 2023 By SBC staff

Thursday, February 23rd | 12 pm EST

70% of American consumers have said they would adjust their shopping habits if they knew that a store wasn’t operating sustainably.

With over 200 stores coast to coast, see how Sleep Country director of ESG Mary de Guzman is making their brick-and-mortar operations greener. She joins Rebecca Handfield, VP of Marketing & PR at BrainBox AI, to discuss their project together and the development of a successful ESG strategy.

Reserve your seat for the live webinar!

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.

SBC Welcomes New Partner: BrainBox AI!

January 31, 2023 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center is excited to welcome BrainBox AI as a new Smart Buildings Center Education Program Partner!

Founded in 2017, BrainBox AI was created to address the dilemma currently facing the built environment, its energy consumption and significant contribution to climate change. As innovators of the global energy transition, BrainBox AI’s game-changing HVAC technology leverages AI to make buildings smarter, greener, and more efficient. Working together with trusted global partners, BrainBox AI supports real estate clients in various sectors, including office buildings, hotels, commercial retail, grocery stores, airports, and more.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, a global AI hub, BrainBox AI’s workforce brings with them talent from all sectors with the common thread of being in business to heal our planet. BrainBox AI works in collaboration with research partners including the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO) as well as educational institutions including Montreal’s Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) and McGill University. For more information visit: www.brainboxai.com.

A Closer Look at the Non-Energy Benefits of Very High Efficiency Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems

January 31, 2023 By SBC staff

This resource is brought to you by BetterBricks

Very high efficiency dedicated outdoor air systems (very high efficiency DOAS) are a proven solution for reducing energy consumption as they optimize the control and functionality of ventilation and thermal comfort independently. This very high efficiency approach is comprised of four key elements: high efficiency heat/energy recovery ventilator (HRV/ERV), a high-performance electric heat pump system that meets or exceeds current ENERGY STAR® minimum efficiency requirements, fully decoupled ventilation from the heating and cooling equipment, and a right-sized heating and cooling system.

Addressing the heating and cooling needs of a building, and applying best practices in design on a project-by-project basis, enables maximum performance and substantial energy savings. But did you know there are non-energy benefits of applying this approach to HVAC in commercial buildings that are also important?

Continue reading here

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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