The proposed project will study early adopters of virtual commissioning (VCx) programs, a remote type of retro-commissioning program (RRCx), that focuses on HTR small and medium businesses. A few of these programs are in the incubator and early adopter phases and are located in regional “clumps”...
This project addresses a critical market barrier: the lack of modeling tools capable of simulating distributed Phase Change Material (“PCM”) Thermal Energy Storage Systems (“TESS”) integrated with Central Heat Pump Water Heaters (“CHPWH”). Existing tools are not designed to capture the dynamic...
Micro Heat Pumps (“Micro HPs”) are efficient, rapidly deployable heat pumps that require minimal professional installation. Micro HPs are suitable for compact spaces where heat pumps can replace or displace existing air conditioners and space heating, or where traditional split or central systems...
The Clean Energy Optimization Pilot (CEOP) was authorized in 2019 by the California Public Utilities Commission. CEOP was designed to incentivize seven participating university campuses to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through performance payments calculated based on electric and gas meter...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts on avoided gas cost calculations from increasing hydrogen and biogas content in pipeline quality natural gas. California EE programs must meet Total System Benefit (TSB) and Total Resource Cost (TRC) metrics. Underlying the calculation of...
Infrared drying of walnuts has demonstrated to significantly reduce drying Not Reviewed
times (by 25-35%) and energy usage. This involves moisture-based sorting and IR
pre-drying of walnuts, followed by conventional hot air drying. The scope of this
agile project comprises of literature review of...
Research question: How do inefficiencies in the HW distribution system create barriers to central heat pump water heater (CHPWH) installations? What can mitigate these inefficiencies in future installations and prepare commercial buildings for CHPWH retrofits?Hypothesis: if a lack of aggregated...
An innovative contractor model of partnering with homeowners and volunteers interested in saving energy has started impacting projects throughout California. Contractors partner with homeowners and community volunteers on home electrification projects, such as installing solar PV and heat pump...
This project will demonstrate variable-speed heat pumps (VSHPs) integrated with smart electric panels that will actively manage household electrical loads, including compressor and air handler speed for the VSHP. By modulating the speed in real-time according to panel capacity and grid conditions,...
This is the final project report for a study on industrial heat pump (IHP) applications conducted from 2024 to 2025 for the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) Code Readiness Program. This research project supports the development and implementation of California’s Building Energy...
