Blog - Page 67 of 121 - Smart Buildings Center

Job Opportunity: Renewables Development Director, McKinstry

November 4, 2021 By SBC staff

McKinstry is looking to add a Renewables Development Director to our quickly growing PNW renewable energy division. The ideal fit for this position will be someone who has project development experience in the commercial and industrial (C&I) market vertical with a focus on solar PV and battery energy storage technologies. This position will be responsible for driving new business and the project development process for Renewable Energy projects across the PNW region from initial concept through client contract. In this position, you will work closely with internal teams as well as external parties to identify, pursue, and develop renewable energy projects. This position will play a key role in developing solar and storage projects that are integrated into larger energy projects that involve efficiency upgrades, lighting, controls optimization, active energy management, and resiliency solutions.

View the full job description and application requirements HERE

SBC Announces 2021 BOC Operator of the Year!

October 27, 2021 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) and Building Operator Certification (BOC) program are proud to announce the 2021 BOC Operator of the Year: Bryan Watson, Facility Coordinator for Stryker Corporation in Portage, MI!

Bryan with his BOC Operator of the Year Award

Earlier this year, BOC requested nominations for people working to improve the energy efficiency of their work environment using skills they learned in the BOC program. We received many impressive nominations detailing how methods learned in BOC classes are helping people make improvements in their work environments, but Bryan’s story stood out among the rest.

In his role as Facility Coordinator, Bryan is responsible for management of building operations and maintenance, including scheduling and temperature setbacks, adjusting economizer settings, and monitoring CO2 levels in a portfolio of Stryker’s buildings. Bryan works to identify opportunites for system upgrades and secure rebate incentives from the local utility for boilers, HVAC units, air compressors, roof replacements, heat recovery projects and helped to install an enhanced BMS system for Stryker’s local buildings.

After completing BOC Level I & II, Bryan conducted an energy audit which revealed millions of dollars in savings opportunities, and he then began implementing energy efficiency projects at his facility. Some of Bryan’s recent accomplishments are detailed below. Bryan was able to secure rebates for many of these upgrades through Consumers Energy, the local utility, and the resulting energy savings positively impact Stryker Corporation’s bottom line.

Installed nozzles on 1/4″ lines used in a cleaning process at the drill press which reduced the CFM of compressed air used to clean parts by 80%. Added additional valves to the manifolds that supplied the air and further reduced the flow of compressed air by another 75% at each manifold. This reduced the overall flow by over 100 SCFM operating no less than 8,000 hours per year.
Worked with mechanical contractors to make sure facility had the best filters for HVAC systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Upgraded filters and changed the fresh air intake settings so the systems would turn over more air and introduce more fresh air into the spaced serviced.
Worked with a contractor to conduct a compressed air leak study which revealed leaks in the manufacturing facility and throughout the plant. Stryker was able to obtain incentives through a rebate that covered the entire cost of the leak study, and Bryan was able to perform the repairs for very little cost resulting in saving as much as $15,000 per year in electrical costs.
Purchased a new 200 HP air compressor and removed two old and inefficient 220+ HP compressors that were less efficient and having internal drying issues.
Worked with a contractor to install duct work so heat that has been exhausted through the roof is now put back inhouse as a heat source during winter months now saving natural gas and reducing the carbon footprint.
Received rebates for installing new, more efficient HVAC units in spaces that were having difficulty cooling during summer months.
Received rebates for replacing nearly 700 fluorescent fixtures (6 lamp 4 ft T8s) with new HI-Bay LEDs.
Received approval for a new roof replacement over half of our 805,000 sq ft building.

Bryan says BOC Level I & II offered a great deal of practical and usable information on how to best operate a building efficiently and offer great indoor environmental quality for the occupants. He’s proud that he’s able to help Stryker work toward their carbon reduction and energy savings goals by utilizing skills he learned in the BOC courses.

The SBC and BOC program applaud Bryan on his efforts to improve the energy efficiency of Stryker Corporation’s operations and congratulate him on being named as 2021 BOC Operator of the Year!

Know someone who deserves recognition for their work in the industry? Nominations will open for the 2022 BOC Operator of the Year award in May, so stay tuned!

Save the Date! Understanding the Clean Buildings Standard

October 27, 2021 By SBC staff

Three paths, two options, one outcome.

The Clean Buildings Act of 2019 is one measure Washington State is taking to improve building operational efficiency. Propelling buildings to targeted energy use intensity by building type and size, all commercial buildings over 50,000 sf will need to comply by 2028 (220,000 sf by 2026), and then maintain compliance or be subject to penalties.

UMC, Hargis Engineers and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) have joined forces to break down the Clean Buildings Standard’s options and implications so you can define a path forward that aligns with your portfolio. [AIA CEU HSW 1.5 Credit]

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS | 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Tuesday, November 16th – Washington State Compliance + Panel Discussion

Rep. Alex Ramel, Washington State House of Representatives
Amy Wheeless, Northwest Energy Coalition
Ron Major, WA State Dept. of Enterprise Services
Poppy Storm, 2050 Institute
Moderator: Kerry Meade, Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC)

Thursday, November 18th – Seattle building focused discussion, through the lens of the Seattle Energy Code and what’s next.

REGISTER

More information on the presentations

Digital Twin Adoption & Implementation Survey

October 26, 2021 By SBC staff

Introduction

Researchers from the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Digital Twin Consortium (DTC), created this survey to investigate Digital Twin (DT) deployment, the current state of the art, components and best practices, as well as opportunities and challenges for adoption and implementation.

Target Audience

This survey contains questions for three types of respondents:

1. DT developers (technology developers/vendors that develop DT solutions and/or provide DT services).

2. DT users (companies from any industry sectors that use DT as a technology solution).

3. Technology practitioners/researchers with knowledge of DT implementations.

Survey Participation

Participation in this survey is voluntary and respondents can withdraw at any time. Also, participation in this survey is anonymous unless you choose to share your contact information for further participation with the research team (more information in the last page of the survey). The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. To show our appreciation of your participation, you will have the chance to request a copy of the research final report.

Data Confidentiality
Your responses to this survey will be stored and maintained confidentially. At any time of the research process, only the research team will have access to the information. Also, the University of Washington has strict protocols to remove any identifiable information from any research publications.

If you have any questions or concerns about this survey, please contact Ali Borhani at [email protected].

Take the survey

“The Future of Building Occupancy Controls” Webinar Recording Available

October 26, 2021 By SBC staff

If you missed last week’s The Future of Building Occupancy Controls: Safety, Efficiency & Sustainability in a Post-COVID World webinar, you can watch the recording on the SBC YouTube channel. The lively panel discusses how real time occupancy data can enable better building management in reducing CO2 emissions and saving energy. Learn about the latest technology and artificial intelligence solutions for running HVAC systems and building controls to optimize for energy savings and sustainability.

Speakers

Scott Thomson, P.E., Vice President at McKinstry
Joe Wilkinson, Research & Development Program Manager for ATS Inc.
David Greschler, CEO of Nomad Go AI
Melissa Sokolowsky, Senior Project Manager at the Smart Buildings Center

Watch the webinar recording

Don’t Miss “The Future of Building Occupancy Controls” Webinar, Oct 19th!

October 14, 2021 By SBC staff

Tuesday, October 19th, 2021
12 pm PST / 3 pm EST
Register Now!

Safety, Efficiency and Sustainability in a Post-COVID World

The Smart Buildings Center invites you to attend this important discussion on the future of building occupancy. As you may or may not know, the #1 emitter of greenhouse gas emissions is not industry or transportation, its buildings, representing 39% of all global GhG. Furthermore, almost 75% of those building-based emissions come from day-to-day operations – heating, cooling, ventilating, and lighting. And to make things worse, it is estimated that about 30% of the energy used in buildings is wasted.

Why? One big problem is that buildings’ HVAC systems are often run with set schedules rather than being dynamic to reflect occupancy, usage, environment and other usage factors.

With information, like real time occupancy, buildings can be better managed in reducing CO2 emissions and saving energy. Join us Tuesday, October 19th at noon PST/ 3 pm EST for this lively panel discussion and learn about the latest technology and artificial intelligence solutions for running HVAC systems and building controls to optimize for energy savings and sustainability.

Key takeaways:

Learn how to reduce energy costs by 30 – 40%
Find out what it takes to be on the leading edge of sustainability innovations
Learn first-hand how customers are using this today to reduce their energy and C02 emissions
Know how to ensure optimal uptime, run efficiently and effectively for comfort and air quality

MODERATOR:

Melissa Sokolowsky, is a Senior Project Manager at the Smart Buildings Center, a project of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) for incubating innovation and new technologies for the buildings industry.

SPEAKERS:

Scott Thomson, P.E., Vice President at McKinstry
Scott is a senior executive and leader in building high-performance buildings. With his background in mechanical engineering, Mr. Thomson has been driving innovation for his company as well as their clients looking for multi-discipline design and construction.

Joe Wilkinson, Research and Development Program Manager for ATSInc.org
Joe is a leader in smart building automation and facilities innovations. With his extensive background in operations management, he has the hands-on knowledge and expertise on the innerworkings of buildings’ automation and technologies.

David Greschler, CEO of Nomad Go AI
David is a leader in artificial intelligence and application virtualization technologies. As a serial entrepreneur, with six patents in virtualization and virtual reality, Mr. Greschler is the driving force behind the Nomad Go visual intelligence solutions for making buildings smarter.

Three paths, two options, one outcome.

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