Tool Library - Smart Buildings Center

Check Out Our New Tool Library Video Tutorials – on the SBC YouTube Channel!

June 22, 2021 By SBC staff

With support from Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, and Washington State Department of Commerce, the Smart Buildings Center (SBC) has developed a new video training series demonstrating practical applications of some of the tools available in SBC’s Tool Lending Library for providing healthier air while maintaining energy-efficiency. These topics are especially relevant to occupying buildings during and post-pandemic. Videos in the series include:

Healthier Air in Buildings: Tools and Strategies
This video gives an overview of the tools available for testing air flow, pressure, and CO2 levels in relation to preventing the spread of airborne infectious disease, increasing occupant comfort, and maintaining energy-efficient HVAC systems.
Verifying Ventilation System Effectiveness Using a Flow Hood
This video demonstrates how to use a flow hood to test air velocity going through a grill to determine the ventilation system effectiveness, in this case for restroom exhaust. Calculating air changes per hour is also discussed.
Assessing Air Pressure in Buildings
This video demonstrates how to use a digital pressure gauge and/or air flow meter to determine zonal or building pressure relative to another zone or to the outdoors.
CO2 Measurement for Healthier Air in Buildings
In this video, we discuss the use of CO2 monitoring and data logging equipment to help approximate how well a space is being ventilated with fresh air over time, including a demonstration of graphed data analysis.

These tools and many more are available for short term rental – (for free!) at the Smart Buildings Center website. Follow us on our YouTube Channel for additional video tutorials and other smart buildings content!

Join us for an SBC Lend & Learn Workshop!

April 23, 2021 By SBC staff

We want your opinion! SBC Lend & Learn Program Survey

March 26, 2021 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center, in collaboration with the City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, is piloting a Lend & Learn program to grow and diversify clean technologies and to expand SBC’s Tool Lending Library (TLL). The goal of the pilot is to:

Increase market access and awareness of local clean technologies specifically around energy efficiency and renewables.
Streamline product providers with business assistance such as user feedback on the tool experience.

We’re seeking input from current tool lending library users as well as those who are not current users.

Please participate in our 5-minute survey by clicking on this link.

Your feedback is valuable to us! You will have the opportunity at the end of the survey to provide your contact information to win one of four $50 gift cards from the Intentionalist, a diverse local business marketplace. You may also donate your gift card to support the Smart Buildings Center Education Program (SBCEP).

Stay tuned for more details on the SBC Lend & Learn Program and Tool Lending Library! Join the Smart Buildings Center mailing list for information about events and energy efficiency news by clicking here.

Thank you for your time & support!

Case Study – Sunfresh Foods Freezer Upgrade

October 22, 2020 By SBC staff

Sunfresh Foods Inc. is a small, locally owned company based in Seattle that has coined the term “Freezerves” to describe their signature freezer jam product.

The Sunfresh processing facility is an approx. 10,000 sq. ft. pre-fab concrete building built in the 1970s. Sunfresh wanted to reduce their high electricity bills and identified their extremely inefficient refrigeration systems as the biggest opportunity for improvement. Before beginning the project, they reached out to the Energy Conservation Program at Seattle City Light (the local utility) about possible incentives. City Light was able to provide a substantial rebate, making it cost effective for Sunfresh to upgrade to a new system. The new system achieves high energy efficiency while helping Sunfresh also attain the attendant social benefits of saving energy.

How did the Smart Buildings Center help?
City Light asked Bob Brennand of Energy Smart Industrial (ESI) to help with measurement and verification (M&V) of the actual energy savings to determine the amount of the incentive.

The ESI program, sponsored by Bonneville Power Authority (BPA), helps utility customers and their industrial end-users achieve cost-effective energy savings.

Bob borrowed the Dent ElitePro XC logging power meters from Smart Buildings Center’s Tool Lending Library to measure consumption data after the upgrade, and the results were very impressive.

To continue reading, please download the full case study.

Sunfresh Case Study (PDF)

Building Tune-Up Accelerator Program – Final Technical Report Published

September 3, 2020 By SBC staff

In 2016, as part of its Climate Action Plan, the City of Seattle passed a mandatory Building Tune-Ups requirement (SBTU) for commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet gross floor area, with a focus on optimizing energy and water performance by identifying low or no cost solutions related to building operations and maintenance.

The Tune-Up Accelerator (TUA) Program was an opportunity for building owners to meet the requirements early and receive incentives from the utilities for the corrective actions implemented to optimize building performance. 102 buildings completed the TUA program representing 6.9 million SF total and about 18% of the target market buildings with 50,000-100,000 SF. The final technical report for TUA program is published on the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) website.

The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) was a program partner and served as a primary provider of training & curricula, Tool Lending Library (TLL) support, project tracking and help desk support for the Tune-Up Accelerator (TUA) Program.

SBC along with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and OSE led the development of the curriculum, which was centered around a customization of PNNL’s Building Re-tuning training for SBTU requirements. To track deliverables required by each participant and evaluate savings resulting from corrective actions taken by buildings, a robust custom database was created by SBC.

SBC also conducted Measurement & Verification (M&V) services on 10% of the participating building population which included onsite verification and data analysis. The aim of M&V was to evaluate the energy and cost savings resulting from energy measure implemented by the buildings.

Read more about the findings of the Building Tune-Up Accelerator Program in the final technical report here!

To Learn more about our Tool Lending Library, click here!

Smart Buildings Center Announces Current Reopening Plans

July 9, 2020 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center is designed as a place to serve those in the energy efficiency and smart buildings industries, providing a resource for these communities to convene, exchange ideas, and improve the building stock in the Pacific Northwest. While the current public health situation required limited operations in recent months, we are excited to announce our current plans to reopen our space and Tool Lending Library with the health and wellbeing of our stakeholders and staff front of mind.

In adhering to the COVID-19 response policy issued by Washington Governor Jay Inslee, the Smart Buildings Center is operating with recommended precautions in place.

General Guidance:

Appropriate masks, covering nose and mouth, are required in the Smart Buildings Center and Pacific Tower and masks are not available on site. Please bring your own mask/face covering.
To limit crowding at entries and exits, the Pacific Tower is limiting entry to the building from the south side of the building; exit is to the north side of the building.

Guidelines for use of Smart Buildings Center’s meeting spaces:

The SBC is reopening our Training and Event Space and Large Conference Room with the following protocols:

Masks are required in all areas of the Smart Buildings Center and the Pacific Tower.
Training and Event Space will hold no more than 15 individuals and the Large Conference Room can hold up to 6 people. This capacity is set to ensure adequate physical distancing of 6 feet between occupants.
Reservations must be submitted within 7 calendar days of the requested event date.
To ensure adequate time for cleaning of spaces, both rooms are only available for use on Mondays & Thursdays.
Staff of the SBC continue to work remotely as recommended by local health guidelines. Check ins and check outs will be conducted by phone and virtual tech support is available.
All parties will be responsible for properly sanitizing the environment before and after event. The SBC will provide cleaning supplies.
Organizations using our space are asked to sign a waiver releasing the Smart Buildings Center of liability.

If you have questions, please email [email protected].

Guidelines for use of Smart Buildings Center’s Tool Lending Library:

The Tool Lending Library is open for reservations and we are excited to serve our stakeholders with this service.

Tools may be picked up or dropped off at the Smart Buildings Center by appointment only, generally within the following hours (other arrangements on a case-by-case basis):

Tuesdays 9-11 am
Thursdays 2-4 pm

When making your reservation, please note your desired appointment time and wait for an email or phone response to confirm. If you would like the tool(s) shipped, please indicate the shipping address when making your reservation, and allow extra time for us to process the shipment.

Appropriate masks covering nose and mouth are required. Entry to the Pacific Tower is from the south side of the building; exit is to the north side of the building. There are several free 30-min. parking spaces near the south entrance of the building. (Note: parking time limits are heavily enforced.)

We are taking care to sanitize tool surfaces before and after use. We appreciate your efforts to do the same before returning tools you have borrowed. Additionally, tools will be quarantined for at least 3 days between loans. Our on-site library staff resources are currently limited. Please help us by being patient with the extra time it may take to process tool loans.

If you have questions, please email [email protected].

Sunfresh Foods Inc. is a small, locally owned company based in Seattle that has coined the term “Freezerves” to describe their signature freezer jam product.

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