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Winter 2011

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facility
Cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Flexible Residential Test Facility are
(left to right) Rob Vieira, Director,
Buildings Research at FSEC; David Lee,
U.S. DOE ’s Director of Residential
Building Programs; James Fenton,
Director, FSEC.
UCF
UCF students win first place in an
international design competition
for modeling a medical complex.
cummings
Congratulations James Cummings,
Fellow ASHRAE.
tw
Todd Louis (middle) from Tommy
Williams Homes, with David Lee, DOE
(left) and Jack Armstrong (right) BASF.
Photo Credit: Newport Partners, LLC
extreme makeover
The first photovoltaic powered net-zero
energy home ever featured on
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
kb home
FSEC assisted KB Home GreenHouse
to achieve LEED Platinum and a score of
"zero" on the EnergySmart home scale.
Photo Credit: c. 2010 James F. Wilson Courtesy Builder magazine
duct
Ductwork Installation Under Drywall.
Hard duct (top), Flex duct (bottom).
ted
Free Standing Display of The Energy Detective (TED) Feedback Device
Current Sponsors -
Funding Buildings Research Projects of $50k or more
-ASHRAE
-Atlantic Housing Partners
-FESC
-Florida DCA
-Florida Energy Office
-Florida Natural Gas Association
-Florida Power & Light Co.
-NETL
-NREL
-PNNL
-Southern Company
-USDOE Building America
-USDOE Energy Codes
-USDOE Software Tools
-USDOE State Energy Program
Publications Now Online
New Research Facility to Test Home Energy Improvements
FSEC celebrated the completion of its newest research facility for testing energy improvements in new and existing homes. DOE’s David Lee participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony January 14, 2011. Initial research at the Flexible Residential Test Facility will focus on energy improvement potentials in vintage Florida homes. Funding for the facility was provided by the Florida Energy Systems Consortium.
Press Release
New EnergyGauge Calculates ENERGY STAR® and Features Improved Rater Registration System
EnergyGauge USA 2.805 update is available. Energy Raters will be able to calculate the new target index used for ENERGY STAR version 2.5 and 3 and complete new ENERGY STAR checklists. A new registration system will allow raters access to pdf's of rating reports.
Press Release | See Free Online Training Modules
ASHRAE Awards UCF Students
UCF students won an international design competition for modeling a medical complex and were recognized at the winter ASHRAE meeting. Many members of the winning team had taken FSEC’s Dr. Muthusamy Swami’s HVAC course.
Students and Mentor Listing
FSEC's James Cummings Awarded Fellow ASHRAE
During ASHRAE's 2011 Winter Conference, James was one out of thirty-six people recognized by ASHRAE for his contributions to the Society and the building industry. Fellow ASHRAE is a membership grade recognizing distinction in the arts and sciences of environmental technology and is earned through achievement as a researcher, designer, educator or engineering executive. The Society elevated 13 members to the grade of Fellow ASHRAE.
Article
Awards Given to Six Builders for Excellence in High-Performance, Energy-Efficient Building at IBS 2011
BASF honored six U.S. Builders for their exceptional achievements in high-performance building at the Third Annual BASF Builders Challenge Awards. The ceremony was held during the 2011 International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida on January 13, 2011. Four of those six builders were Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC) partners.
Article
TV Show Selects BA-PIRC Partner For Home Build
LifeStyle Homes of Melbourne, Florida built the first photovoltaic powered net-zero energy home ever featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Episode aired on February 13, 2011. FSEC staff members, Patrick Gillis and Kevin Schleith, participated in the build.
LifeStyle Homes | Extreme Makeover | ZEH Case Study
KB Home Announces 100% of Homes Will Be Rated
KB Home, the 5th largest US builder in 2009 based on home closings, announced that they will be requiring each of their new homes be energy rated. FSEC recently provided technical assistance for their GreenHouse™: An Idea Home Created with Martha Stewart.
Rating Announcement | KB Home GreenHouse
New FSEC Study Seeks Participants
Researchers seek participants for a new FSEC study of renovation projects targeting 30% improvement in whole house energy efficiency. Projects must be anticipated to start this spring or summer. For qualification criteria, contact: Janet McIlvaine at 321-638-1434 or janet@fsec.ucf.edu.
Pubs Now online
Low Cost Interior Duct Systems for High Performance Homes in Hot Climates
This paper presents a cost effective method that was used by four builders in the Gainesville, FL area to construct interior ducts in over a dozen site built homes.
Publication
Gulf Coast High Performance Affordable Housing Demonstration Project
BAIHP worked with five partners in the Gulf Coast region recovering from Hurricane Katrina. A demonstration home was conceived to give builders in the region a cost-effective model of high performance to emulate. This report summarizes the status of work, the proposed energy efficiency package, standard construction practices, and implementation challenges.
Publication | Project Description
Pilot Evaluation of Energy Savings and Persistence from Residential Energy Demand Feedback Devices in a Hot Climate
This paper briefly reviews past research and describes a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.
Publication
Exploring Cost-Effective, High Performance Residential Retrofits for Affordable Housing in the Hot Humid Climate
FSEC's Building America team worked with partners to find cost-effective paths for improving the energy performance of existing homes. This paper presents the project's process highlighting the first home to meet the target HERS Index of 70.
Publication
Training
Commercial Energy Code and Green Building Modeling Using EnergyGauge Summit
This course will teach you how to use the EnergyGauge Summit software. It is designed for first time and experienced users. Offered April 6, 2011.
Course Description
EnergyGauge Commercial Rater Training
This course is designed to teach the methodology of commercial energy ratings in order to accurately assess commercial buildings. Offered April 7, 2011.
Course Description
Rating Field Inspector
Work under the direct supervision of a certified home energy rater. Learn how to collect information, conduct inspections and perform tests to produce a home energy rating. Offered April 11-14, 2011.
Course Description
Florida Green Home Training
A two day training offering green building techniques appropriate for Florida homes. Offered April 20-21, 2011.
Course Description
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