Tag: DOE

DOE Challenge Home Tech Training Webinars

Posted: March 10, 2014
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technology Office

The Building Technology Office is offering a new webinar series on getting homes zero-energy ready. The webinars – sponsored by DOE Challenge Home, a blueprint for these ultra high-performance homes – feature experts who discuss critical home systems, how they simultaneously save energy and improve comfort, and how to get these systems right.

Ducts in Conditioned Spaces
Thursday, March 20, noon – 1:30 p.m. ET

With such high performance homes, it’s impossible to justify huge thermal losses from ducts in unconditioned spaces.  That’s why one of the program’s mandatory specs calls for ducts in conditioned space.  However “ducts in conditioned space” isn’t a one-size-fits-all design requirement in DOE Challenge Home.  Over the last several years, DOE’s Building America research partners have worked out the kinks on a toolkit of duct design strategies.  In this session, Bill Zoeller, Steven Winter Associates, a leading expert on thermal performance of air, will share the pros and cons of these strategies so you can specify effective distribution systems for any type of project.  Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/252839560

Comprehensive Building Science
Wednesday, March 26, noon – 1:30 p.m. ET

DOE Challenge Homes aren’t just really energy efficient – they’re designed and built using solid building science principles.  Version 3 of the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program, a prerequisite for every Challenge Home, delivers three key systems that improve comfort, indoor air quality, and durability – a complete thermal enclosure system, a complete HVAC system, and a complete water management system. In this webinar, Dean Gamble of EPA will cover the building science basics that underlie these key systems, as well as discuss the top three challenges of each system and how to overcome them.  Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/19446

Energy Efficiency Standard for ‘Wall Warts’ (External Power Supplies)

Posted: February 4, 2014
Source: Energy Manager Today.com by Linda Hardesty

Following close on the heels of last week’s finalized energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures, the US Energy Department yesterday announced the final rule for new efficiency standards for external power supplies.

The agency says external power supplies, commonly referred to as “wall warts,” are used in hundreds of types of electronics and consumer products, including cell phones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles and power tools, to convert power from a wall outlet into lower voltages. More than 300 million external power supplies are shipped in the United States each year and the average American home has five to ten external power supplies. These numbers are expected to continue growing as consumers and businesses purchase new types of personal electronics.
Continue reading Energy Efficiency Standard for ‘Wall Warts’ (External Power Supplies)

Metal Halide Lamps: DOE Updates Efficiency Standards

Posted: January 31, 2014
Source: Energy Manager Today.com

The US Department of Energy has finalized new energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures.

Metal halide lamp fixtures include the ballast, which starts and regulates the electrical current for these lighting systems. They are commonly used for parking lots and streets, flood lighting, athletic facilities, big-box stores and warehouses. On average, one metal halide lamp fixture consumes about 2,210 kilowatt hours of energy per year.

The new efficiency standards update the 2007 standards for metal halide lamp fixtures. These standards incorporate feedback from industry, consumer and environmental advocacy groups and other stakeholders and will go into effect three years after publication in the Federal Register.

In November, the DOE proposed new and amended energy conservation standards for certain commercial and industrial electric motors, including a number of different groups of electric motors that DOE has not previously regulated.