Western Cooling Challenge Launched

On June 5, UC Davis launched a new partnership program designed to reduce rooftop air conditioner electricity use in the western United States by over 40 percent. The “Western Cooling Challenge,” being spearheaded by the UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC), targets large retailers and manufacturers.

“The challenge aims to accelerate the adoption of regionally appropriate cooling technologies for new and existing low-rise, nonresidential buildings (such as suburban retail and office buildings).” It is a voluntary program that will require industry to meet performance specifications for new rooftop A/C units. US Western states that have dry summer climates are the target (e.g., California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico). The program specifically is aimed at reducing peak demand, one of the greatest challenges facing utilities.

"With the Western Cooling Challenge, and its goal of reducing both energy use and peak demand from cooling by more than 40 percent, we are targeting a large market sector: the rooftop air conditioners that cool 70 percent of the floor area in non-residential buildings in the western U.S.,” said Dick Bourne, Associate Director of the WCEC. “These units are not optimized for dry climates, so there is a significant opportunity here to reduce electricity use and demand."

UC Davis Smart Energy Initiative - Garages & Parking Lots

The California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC), Energy Efficiency Center (EEC), and Facilities Management at UC Davis, have launched the California Parking Garage Lighting Project, an initiative directed at increasing safety, reducing costs of maintenance, and also achieving 50% or greater energy savings in standard parking garage lighting applications. Our short-term objective is to install “smart lighting” systems in new parking lots and structures, and retrofit existing structure on the UC Davis campus-wide. Research will be completed and public input will be sought to inform project outcome. For more information about this project, click here.

UC Davis Smart Energy Initiative - Office Lighting

A partnership among the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC), Finelite, and the Public Interest Energy Research Program (PIER) of the California Energy Commission (CEC) has resulted in a novel task/ambient lighting approach for office lighting that promises increased user satisfaction and energy savings of over 50% over current code requirements. This approach features PLS™, a patent-pending, energy-efficient, LED-based personal lighting system that gives office workers excellent control of the lighting on the tasks and vertical surfaces in their offices and workstations. For more information about this project, click here.

Confront Carbon at Home!

This project aims to encourage cost-effective residential energy efficiency and promote friendly competition with a simple measurement tool that yields visible quantified energy efficiency impacts.  For more information about this project, click here.

Community Center Built at UC Davis with Renewable and Efficient Energy Technologies

The Baggins End Domes Cooperative Community, an intentional community of students at the Sustainable Research Area on the UC Davis Campus, has begun construction of a new community center that will incorporate a solar thermal radiant floor for seasonal heating. Radiant flooring is one of the most energy efficient technologies for heating or space cooling. This is a student-led design and construction endeavor.  It serves as an example of self-led education through tangible experience.  An array of solar thermal collectors will provide renewable energy to heat water, which will circulate through a hydronic floor to heat the 700 sf space. The project will serve to demonstrate and evaluate performance of appropriate renewable and energy efficient technologies. Instrumentation of the system will provide data so that the project may be used as a "Living Laboratory," a tool for ongoing education and research. For additional photos of the construction, please click here. To learn more about what UC Davis is doing with radiant flooring, visit our affiliate center the Western Cooling Efficiency Center from here.