July 17, 2020 by Greg Marsicek
What is the best method to harness thermal energy storage in refrigeration systems?
Industrial refrigeration consumes more energy per cubic foot than any other utility load. Refrigerated facilities are energy intense and have a large peak demand. This demand creates significant impact on the grid. For an owner or operator, these facilities are expensive to operate. Thermal storage creates the opportunity to save energy and reduce or shift peak demand – resulting in energy cost savings. It also increases system resiliency. Continue reading
July 17, 2020 by Claire Cowan
How does weatherizing multifamily buildings impact health and resilience? We find out.
We know that weatherization produces measurable health benefits for residents of single-family homes. Is the same true for multifamily buildings? With funding from the JPB Foundation, Three3 and Slipstream are conducting a multi-year study to quantify the health and resilience benefits of weatherizing multifamily buildings. Continue reading
July 17, 2020 by Scott Pigg
Low-rise multifamily code compliance. Can we do better for people and programs?
Compliance with building energy codes is key to ensure home and business owners benefit from the intended energy savings. If we don’t use effective methods to understand energy code compliance, we can’t establish accurate baselines for energy efficiency programs or understand what energy savings are left on the table. Compliance insight will equip program managers to make the case for compliance improvement and enhancement programs. This is especially important for low-rise multifamily buildings. Continue reading
June 1, 2020 by Justin Margolies and Kevin Gries
Dual fuel air-source heat pump pilot
Cold climate heat pumps provide economic, environmental, and grid benefits
Can cold climate heat pumps deliver worthwhile results to homeowners and utilities? How do we design effective programs and product rebates to encourage heat pump adoption? We monitored residential centrally ducted, dual fuel air-source heat pumps in Michigan to find out. Continue reading
June 1, 2020 by Joe Zhou
ASHRAE actual performance of 90.1-2010 building
How can future versions of the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard drive more energy cost savings?
No studies have been conducted that determine the energy cost savings for buildings that comply with ASHRAE’s standard 90.1-2010 vs. the 2004 version based on utility bill data and building surveys. Slipstream will address this gap by documenting the energy performance of two building types. Then we’ll explore how to improve future versions of the standard to drive energy cost savings. Continue reading
May 28, 2020 by Connor Jansen
Daylighting a postmodern historic building
Discover daylighting benefits in a beautiful historical building
What if you could experience the outdoors—minus extreme weather—indoors? Slipstream’s experience with daylight design and advance building techniques brings the wellness benefits of natural light into the Keller Center in Chicago. People working inside this Edward Durrell Stone postmodern masterpiece now have access to the Harris Family Forum at the nucleus of the building. This four-story atrium is the building’s most prominent feature and connects to the outdoors via skylights. Continue reading
May 14, 2020 by Jeannette LeZaks
Load shifting
Utilities: Consider load shifting to avoid cost and emissions in the Midwest
Advancing codes and standards. Measures reaching market saturation. It's getting more expensive and tougher for utilities to meet savings goals. Continue reading
May 14, 2020 by Scott Hackel
Cold thermal energy storage
Help your power systems support renewable energy resources with thermal energy storage
Cold thermal energy storage (CTES) can help utilities increase renewable energy production. CTES stores energy generated by solar or wind until it's needed by the utility.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison partnered with Slipstream to research CTES control strategies that maximize how much renewable energy can be used. Continue reading
May 13, 2020 by Claire Cowan
SEDC market characterization in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois
Small embedded data centers—your most overlooked opportunity for energy savings
Have you considered how much energy your small embedded data center (SEDC) consumes? SEDCs are estimated to account for nearly one percent of the total electricity use in the U.S. As much as one third of this usage is unnecessary, but most energy efficiency programs or IT service providers overlook it. Continue reading
May 11, 2020 by Scott Schuetter
Smart valves
Will smart valves help solve your building’s HVAC energy efficiency problem?
Roughly 25% of Midwest commercial buildings use either chilled or hot water for HVAC distribution. New code compliant hydronic systems are required to have both variable flow control and temperature control to prevent energy waste. In existing buildings, owners prefer to address this issue with a variable flow retrofit. Continue reading
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