Spring 2012 Case Study Webinar Series

This series of project-based webinars is designed to create interest, stimulate critical thinking, and produce an archive of California-specific existing home projects that address deep reductions. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) deep energy reductions (DER) modeling project being done in collaboration with the Thousand Home Challenge will be featured as a stand-alone session.

Each project will be featured in a separate 90-minute webinar in order to provide adequate time for understanding the project's context, the decisions made, strategies deployed, resulting measured energy performance, non-energy benefits, lessons learned, and most importantly, implications for California energy reduction initiatives. The project presentation will be followed by structured comments by one or two designated respondents, and then a question and answer discussion period.

 

WEBINAR 1: Do Deep Energy Retrofits Achieve Deep Energy Reductions?
LBNL Monitored Results of 10 California Case Studies

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARCHIVE OF THIS WEBINAR

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 10-11:30 AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION:

Ten homes in California embarking on deep energy reductions have been extensively documented and monitored for energy usage and performance by the Residential Building Systems group at LBNL. The individual projects will be briefly described and their energy performance will be presented in detail. Their energy use will be compared with each project's Thousand Home Challenge threshold. Comparisons will be made between projects. We will examine and explore recommendations and lessons learned that are vital for understanding what drives success in achieving deep reductions in energy use.

By participating in this webinar, attendees will

  1. Learn how a variety of approaches can be used to achieve deep energy reductions in homes
  2. Understand which elements of the projects were successful, and which ones may have been detrimental to success
  3. Grasp how to define success in a deep reduction project and discover what drives it

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WEBINAR 2: First CA Home to Meet the THC - Beeler
Phased Reductions Include Seismic Retrofit

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 10-11:30 AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION:

George and Ellen Beeler decided to take on the renovation of a 1940 vintage home in Petaluma, CA 14 years ago. Over that time, a 3-stage deep energy reduction (DER) project unfolded that ended up with the Beeler residence becoming the first home in California to officially meet the Thousand Home Challenge. While the first webinar in this series looks at a number of California case studies, comparing the monitored results across properties (including the Beeler home), this webinar dives into the details of the entire effort of the Beelers, including their broader commitment to living a sustainable lifestyle. George will share the many lessons he learned throughout the entire process, including what was most successful as well as what could have been done differently. He will also share his most recent experience with an electric vehicle and its effect on the home's utility bills.

By participating in this webinar, attendees will

  1. Learn the details of a completed multi-stage deep energy reduction project
  2. Explore the energy performance results of this project and how it met the Thousand Home Challenge threshold
  3. Hear about the lessons learned, what was most successful, and what could have been done differently

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WEBINAR 3: First US Passive House Retrofit - O'Neill
The PH Approach to Deep Energy Reductions

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - 10-11:30 AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION:

Homeowner Cathy O’Neill wanted a retirement home that set a benchmark for energy efficiency, but she also wanted it to be beautiful, warm, and welcoming. Builder Rick Milburn of PassivWorks, together with architect Jarrod Denton of Signum Architecture and Passive House Consultant Graham Irwin of Essential Habitat transformed a run-down and dated 1960s house in the City of Sonoma into California’s first certified Passive House (Passivhaus) and the first certified Passive House retrofit in the US.
 
This webinar will explore the methodology and process of the team, the details of the project, and a comparison of modeled to monitored performance. The applicability of Passive House for California will be described, along with lessons learned and efforts by the team to make this approach easier, cheaper, and better.
 
By participating in this webinar, attendees will
  1. Have a better understanding of the construction practices deployed to achieve the energy, comfort, and durability performance required of certified Passive House projects
  2. Learn about the energy performance results of this project, and how it compares with the OPTION B threshold for the Thousand Home Challenge and current building code
  3. Hear insights from the team members into the efficacy of the measures employed and possibilities for additional cost-optimization in future projects

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WEBINAR 4: Second Home to Meet the THC in CA - Bergamaschi
Focus on Baseloads, PV, & Occupant Behavior

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - 10-11:30 AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION:

San Francisco Architect Frank Bergamaschi thought he built a pretty efficient home for his family in 2000, but when he decided to investigate installing a PV system he was alarmed at the size of the system required to offset his home’s electrical usage. He began sleuthing how best to reduce electricity usage, and discovered that he could achieve significant savings through monitoring and managing his home’s energy system. He was so successful with his efforts that he was able to meet the Thousand Home Challenge while cutting the PV system size in half, the second home in California to achieve this aggressive goal. Not satisfied to stop there, Frank recently enlisted the help of Rick Chitwood to do a full diagnostic energy assessment. Join this webinar to hear the details of how Frank successfully met the Thousand Home Challenge through baseload sleuthing, PV, and occupant behavior.

By participating in this webinar, attendees will

  1. Find out how a focus on baseload energy management helped this project meet the Thousand Home Challenge
  2. Learn about the energy performance results of this project
  3. Hear about future opportunities to improve energy performance discovered through a recent energy assessment

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