Better Buildings Alliance: Webinars

If you’ve been struggling to find funding for energy efficiency projects in your buildings, then this session is the one for you. This webinar (1) demonstrates the Efficiency Financing Navigator, a new tool to help you find financing that's right for you; (2) explains how to access incentives and tax credits using DSIRE and other resources; and (3) gives you practical advice about where to start and how to look out for pitfalls when finding financing.

Energy Management has evolved a lot over the past decade. As organizations move beyond just changing out light bulbs, investment in commercial and industrial building energy efficiency has more than doubled between 2006 and 2014, from $7 billion to $16 billion. This growth has been fueled by a mix of organizational sustainability commitments, the availability of enabling incentive programs, the proliferation of cost-effective technologies, and the promise of significant financial savings. Since 2008, the EDF Climate Corps program has played a significant supporting role in this growth, helping over 400 “host organizations” jumpstart energy management solutions by matching them with trained graduate student fellows who work onsite to identify actionable energy reduction strategies. This one-hour webcast will summarize findings from a comprehensive report that highlights key trends, opportunities and next steps for companies regardless of their sophistication on energy management topics.

You’ll learn how:

1. To be more strategic and sophisticated about energy management, beyond just energy efficiency
2. Companies are scaling up their energy projects to achieve greater results
3. To choose and implement energy projects, leveraging the latest technologies
4. To leverage your investments to provide better environmental returns

Register Now

This webinar was the inaugural meeting of the new Building Envelope Tech Team. The main topics discussed were:

• Online resources such as real world demonstrations, case studies, specification documents, and installation guidance for building envelope subcategories: windows, walls, and roofs
• Profiling Chesapeake College, a Better Buildings Partner, investments in building envelope wall, windows, and roof technologies
• Discussion of the pros and cons of new technology, such as: next generation windows, dynamic controls, window shading, and sprayable air sealing.

In parallel with decreasing system costs and new business models, public policy is driving energy storage adoption around the country. Organizations are beginning to consider energy storage options, but little information is publicly available on benefits, business models, or best practices. Energy storage is a broad category of technologies with many different capabilities that can be daunting to sift through and find the best opportunities. In this session, attendees will get an overview of energy storage technologies, use cases, business models and how it can help you manage energy spend. 

1. Understand types of energy storage available and what may work on your building 
2. Identify use cases for energy storage that provide you value 
3. Learn about potential business models and procurement strategies 
4. Identify additional resources to help you make decisions on energy storage 

While sub-meters on their own don’t save energy or water, they play a crucial part in successful energy and water reduction efforts. Get the low down from our expert panelists on the best practices, benefits and current costs to meter energy, water and data centers in your buildings.

Capturing the story behind energy savings projects helps catapult a culture around planning future projects, funding them, and growing a team's value in your company or organization. Hear from leading partners, learn about the innovative SWAP, and learn from media experts giving tips on telling your tale.

Workplace charging programs are successful when organizations choose the charging station design that best fits the needs of both, employers and employees. Taking into account the available budget, program goals, employee interest, and site specific requirements, an employer may choose to install Level 1, Level 2, or DC fast charging. During this webinar, Margaret Smith will present an overview of the types of charging stations and share examples of Workplace Charging Challenge Partners that use each type of charging.

Register Now.

The Better Buildings Alliance is the leading peer-to-peer networking and education initiative for any organization that owns or operates commercial real estate and wants to know more about energy efficiency. Experts from the Department of Energy outlined their plans for 2017, and shared how your organization can get involved. This webinar provides an opportunity to learn more about the Better Buildings Alliance, tech retrofit campaigns, and energy savings strategies in your sector.

The commercial mortgage loan process involves high stakes and energy efficiency is generally not a motivating factor for lenders, with current mortgage practices not fully accounting for the risks and opportunities associated with energy use of buildings. After a scoping study and stakeholder engagements with lenders and building owners, Lawrence Berkeley Nat Lab and Haas School of Business identified several potential inventions to properly account for energy factors in the lending process. Here, they demonstrated how and where energy factors can "move the needle" on key underwriting metrics such as default risk, NOI, and economic or functional obsolescence. 

Presenters: 
Paul Matthew, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 
Nancy Wallace, Haas School of Business UC Berkeley

Preview the new and innovative technologies that are making headlines this fall. Hear about the latest from DOE’s High Impact Technology (HIT) Catalyst program, including an update on micro-Combined Heat and Power demonstrations, a sneak peek into energy savings from testing of multi-technology packages (Going Beyond Widgets), as well as opportunities to host joint HIT and Green Proving Ground demonstrations to verify the performance of emerging technologies. Find out more about how you can engage with the Better Buildings Tech team to help you lower energy use in your building portfolio.

Presenters: Amy Jiron, DOE; Cynthia Regnier, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Kris Jorgensen, A.O. Smith Corporation

Are you getting the most out of your rooftop units (RTUs)? Extreme climates like Chicago can be harsh on RTUs and they need a little TLC to keep them running at peak performance. ComEd and CLEAResult have teamed up to offer the AirCare Plus RTU tune-up program with results in excess of 20% energy savings. Join the Advanced RTU Campaign for a webinar to learn more about the AirCare Plus utility incentive program, the Advanced RTU Campaign, and how to get involved. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) will present on its RTU Tune-Up Program, and include a testimonial case study from a partner contractor, Murphy & Miller.

This webinar provided an overview of available energy storage technologies, use cases and the benefits they can bring to the commercial real estate sector, along with a case study of a successful energy storage project. 

Buildings that produce more energy than they consume, commonly defined as zero net energy buildings, have moved from concept to reality in recent years. Can you achieve zero net energy commercial buildings at little to no cost premium? Join us to find out. You’ve read success stories and seen real-world examples. Now it’s time to take action. We’ll show you how to quickly estimate photovoltaic energy production and building energy consumption; and share cost control strategies including performance based procurement, power purchase agreements, tax credits, incentives and more. Ultimately, this webinar will arm you with the practical information and resources you need to develop an early zero net energy building feasibly study and budget.

Presenters: Scott Hackel PE, LEED AP, Principal Energy Engineer, Seventhwave; Ben Heymer PE, Senior Project Manager, Seventhwave; Shanti Pless, Senior Research Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Register Now

This webinar presents a Q&A discussion with visual aids of two organizations completing significant energy savings through lighting retrofits. Rachel Healy of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will discuss the upgrades to their 25 parking garages that serve the transit system of the nation’s capital. Frank Inoa of Arby’s Restaurants will discuss retrofits of 100 Arby’s facilities. This 60-minute event will include a 45-minute presentation and a 15-minute live question and answer session with attendees.

Moderator: Paul Wessel, Director, Market Development at U.S. Green Building Council 

Presenters: Rachel Healy, Director of Sustainability, WMATA; Frank Inoa, FCSI, CFCP, Director of Engineering at Arby’s Restaurant Group

Presenters: Bill Conley, Yamaha Motor Corporation; Maureen Roskoski, Facility Engineering Associates 

The Measuring & Monitoring Guide is one the newer publications in the How-To Sustainability Guide series. Inspired by the adage that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, the guide was created by subject matter experts and facility management practitioners. It was designed to explain the importance of measuring inputs and outputs while monitoring progress and consistency in facility operations. Recommendations, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and best practices are presented to assist in optimizing and improving facility performance.

The Guide discusses aspects of the Measurement process, including who should be responsible and accountable for the activity and reporting. It outlines appropriate timing for when to measure and how life cycle assessment analysis plays a critical role in establishing a complete accounting of resource management.  It explains key metrics in major categories and highlights resources. 

Items addressed also include sustainability reports, Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and Green Building Rating systems.  The Guide is supplemented by Case Studies, a glossary of common terms and links to external resources.

Are you wondering how to tackle energy and water efficiency in leased tenant spaces? A representative from DOE discussed technological barriers, opportunities, and collaborative approaches to promoting energy and water efficiency in tenant spaces. Cushman and Wakefield highlighted its recent efforts to integrate energy efficiency into the design and construction of tenant spaces and other measures they have taken to reduce energy and water consumption. Better Buildings Challenge goal-achiever Sprint discussed how they’ve addressed lighting, energy management systems, and roof-top units to see significant reductions in leased space energy use.

What’s the best way to save money on your rooftop units (RTUs)? Replace them BEFORE they break! The Advanced RTU Campaign promotes proactive replacement with high-efficiency RTUs, and has developed resources to support this process. Leading utilities see the value in proactive replacement and have developed programs in this area. Participants in this webinar will learn about the newest resource from the Advanced RTU Campaign, the Business Case for Proactive RTU Replacement, for commercial building operators. Southern California Edison Utility (SCE) will present on its RTU Early Retirement program and include a testimonial case study from a contractor, TriPacific AMS, who has benefitted from the program.

Presenters: Michael Deru, NREL; Anne Marie Blankenship, SCE; Geoff Wilkins, Energy Solutions; Jim Dunavant, TriPacific AMS

Register Now

This webinar will help you learn how your company can partner with the Interior Lighting Campaign to speed the adoption of high efficiency troffer lighting. New troffer technology and the availability of smart controls are becoming increasingly important to delivering high efficiency troffer lighting solutions with an attractive return-on-investment. Learn about the role of manufacturers and distributors in the ILC, from getting the word out about the campaign and the benefits of high efficiency troffers, to making it easy for participants to identify high efficiency troffer solutions that qualify for the ILC within your product offerings.

Presenters: Felipe Leon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Andy Mitchell, U.S. Department of Energy

Join the Better Buildings Alliance Market Solutions team for  updates from its many initiatives to address market based barriers to energy efficiency. Learn about opportunities to incorporate energy efficiency into leasing practices, commercial appraisals, and mortgage underwriting, and to participate in research into the connection between building energy performance and building financial performance. The session will conclude with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and discuss additional focus areas for the Market Solutions team.

Come learn more about interior lighting, with a focus on troffers and how new technology can significantly reduce energy use in higher education spaces. Colleges and universities in the U.S. spend around $1.10 per square foot on electricity with lighting representing 31% of the energy usage. The presentation will cover Princeton University’s recent lighting and controls upgrades, the University Financing Foundation assistance to education and research organizations with planning, development, and financing of facilities and equipment at below-market costs, and an overview of the Interior Lighting Campaign.

Lighting is a sizable portion of energy usage for facility managers.  Parking facility lighting is easy target for energy savings for sites.  Coupling new equipment with lighting controls can enable sites to achieve energy savings of nearly 90% compared to their existing practices.  Attendees of this webinar will learn about energy saving technologies/practices for parking facilities as well as IFMA’s recently released lighting guide.

This webinar provided an overview of the new energy efficiency resources and upcoming opportunities available this year through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance.  Each sector group (Commercial Real Estate, Healthcare, Higher Education, Hospitality, Retail/Food Service/Grocery) presented the hot topics selected to address this year and highlighted the latest from the Technology Solutions and Market Solutions teams. Learn about new solutions that can help reduce energy costs for your organization. 

Advanced Power Strips (APS) have the potential to significantly reduce plug loads in commercial buildings, but procuring the right type of APS for a building is not always simple. The U.S. Department of Energy, through the Better Buildings Alliance, published a technical specification to help building owners define, procure, and use APSs in commercial buildings. The presentation walked through the details of the specification and provided examples of how stakeholders can apply the specification – for example, tenants in leased spaces, building owners and managers across their portfolios, utilities for energy incentive programs, and more.

Come learn about the Interior Lighting Campaign – a joint effort by the U.S. Department of Energy, Building Owners and Managers Association International, International Facility Management Association, and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. The ILC is a recognition and guidance program designed to help facility owners and managers take advantage of savings opportunities from high efficiency interior lighting solutions, with a specific focus on troffer lighting and associated controls. Troffers are the ubiquitous rectangular fixtures recessed or mounted to the ceiling, and represent half of all commercial fluorescent fixtures. Their annual energy use equates to that consumed each year by more than 8 million homes. New technologies for troffers allow for energy savings of 60%, and much more when coupled with lighting controls. The Campaign offers resources and limited technical assistance to those who join, and the potential for awards to those whose sites demonstrate exemplary performance. In addition to an overview of the Campaign, this webinar discussed high efficiency troffer and associated controls options, and Yamaha Motor Corporation’s experiences as they consider upgrading thousands of troffers.

Have you dreamed of having broad support internally for energy efficiency projects? View this webinar to learn about ways to persuasively present lighting efficiency projects to different audiences in your organization, including management, human resources, and clinicians. John D'Angelo, VP for Facilities at Northwestern University, discussed how to promote improved patient outcomes, safety, and experiences, and tying these to HCAHPS scores. Michael Myer, lighting expert with PNNL, presented some of the latest lighting technologies and applications for healthcare facilities.