Minnesota raised the bar on commercial building energy performance with historic code advancements. Utilities still have a vital role to play in the commercial new construction market. But how will the utility role change? Read more
Slipstream’s field study found that programs that add retro-commissioning (RCx) can recapture energy savings that are lost as buildings age. Our report outlines triggers to identify the most promising targets for RCx and the important role training can play. Read more
Colorado-based Heart of a Building (HoB) and Colorado State University (CSU) chose Slipstream to deliver a series of technical online courses to Slipstream’s and the U.S. Green Building Council’s audience of architects, engineers, and other building professionals. HoB and CSU will create videos of building case studies that focus on ways buildings are transforming from the places we inhabit to spaces in harmony with nature. Read more
Texas A&M University chose Slipstream to partner on a two-year ASHRAE research project to optimize supply air temperature control for dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS). The goal of this project is to develop optimal control strategies for commercial building dedicated outdoor air systems. This will help utilities achieve their energy saving goals and help government and facility managers save energy - and costs. Read more
In Minnesota—one of many states pursuing an aggressive set of climate goals—50% of statewide electricity production is estimated to come from wind and solar by 2035. At the same time, traditional efficiency measures are reaching saturation in the market. If we are to successfully shift to a clean-energy grid that still meets our energy demands, it isn’t enough to change how we create our energy; we need to shift when we use our energy as well. Read more
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. Read more
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. Read more
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. Read more
How can a city develop business energy efficiency baselines by building type? We break it down.
Do you have the energy and property data needed to understand how buildings in your community or service territory perform against other similar buildings? We worked with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) to link utility data with property tax data in new ways. The result? A robust dataset that can be used to inform city-wide programming. The City of Madison and MGE wanted to drive more energy savings to help business customers. Read more
Should phase change materials be a part of your commercial building energy efficiency plan?
Would you like to reduce peak electricity demand by 4-7% through a non-invasive retrofit? Perhaps you should consider phase change materials (PCMs) as one of your efficiency measures. Read more
How much lighting energy do commercial buildings use annually? What building types are ideal for adjusting light levels? We partnered with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources through the Conservation Applied Research and Development (CARD) program to answer these questions and discover the best program offerings and resources so Minnesota can optimize their light levels and save on costs. Read more
Do adsorbent air cleaning systems deliver on all that they claim? We test them to find out.
Over the past four decades, technology and engineering practices have made enormous strides in lowering the energy use of buildings. However, there is an area of building operations that remains a persistently high energy user: ventilation. Read more
Webinar: Performance-based Targets for Commercial New Construction: The Building Owner’s Perspective
In February 2021, Slipstream presented at a webinar hosted by ENERGY STAR® entitled Performance-based Targets for Commercial New Construction: The Building Owner’s Perspective. Read more
How much lighting energy do commercial buildings use annually? What building types are ideal for adjusting light levels? We partnered with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources through the Conservation Applied Research and Development (CARD) program to answer these questions and discover the best program offerings and resources so Minnesota can optimize their light levels and save on costs.
Read more
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.
Read more
Refrigeration is a massive energy consumer in commercial and industrial buildings. According to the International Institute of Refrigeration's Role of Refrigeration in the Global Economy, it consumes around 17 percent of all electricity in the commercial sector alone. Rising demand and a warming climate mean almost certain expansion for refrigeration. This also means tremendous opportunity for energy savings; effort has gone into implementing many measures to reduce energy use in refrigeration across the country. Read more
Retrofit for energy efficiency without compromising aesthetics, productivity or historic landmark status.
Does your historic building need an upgrade, but you’re worried an energy efficient retrofit could compromise the look? Slipstream worked closely with the Perkins + Will team to design a five-floor new office space in the iconic Wrigley Building—and to enhance energy performance. Read more
SEDCs are one of the fastest growing end uses of electrical energy in commercial buildings.
This equipment consumes approximately 98 GWh annually at a cost to Wisconsin businesses of $10.7 million. Almost one third of this energy use is unnecessary and could be reduced through a range of IT measures and strategies, many of which are eligible for Focus on Energy incentives. We conducted a study to provide Focus on Energy a better understanding of number, type and efficiency level of SEDCs in Wisconsin.
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As COVID-19 spreads across the United States, this document helps building designers and operators understand how the virus is transmitted and how we can reduce the risk of being infected by properly operating air-conditioning and ventilation equipment.
Presentation by Peng Xu, PhD, PE, MBA, Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. English translation by Slipstream. Read more
Slipstream’s team of researchers, with support from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grants, will illuminate the future of energy productivity - both inside buildings and on the evolving grid. By partnering with DOE, our team will be on the front lines of needed change in the flexible building technology space which includes heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting. This research will: Read more
Refrigeration is a massive energy suck in commercial and industrial buildings. So much so that tremendous effort has been put into measures to reduce energy use in refrigeration systems across the country. Even though the industry has worked tirelessly to install system controls, there is still a long way to go. Our research team has continued to look for more aggressive solutions in the refrigeration world. Here is a summary of a few of our experiences with new approaches to energy efficiency in refrigeration. Read more
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Small embedded data centers (SEDCs) are one of the fastest growing end uses of electrical energy in commercial buildings and are estimated to account for nearly one percent of the total electricity use in the U.S. By some accounts, as much as one third of this usage is unnecessary, but this premise has not been addressed by Focus on Energy programs or by most device manufacturers. Read more
RTUs are used in more than one third of U.S. commercial buildings, the highest of any cooling equipment type. Why? They are reliable and have a low capital cost, as well as established service and distribution networks. There is anecdotal evidence, however, that these systems operate inefficiently. To validate or refute this evidence, we conducted a multi-level field study sponsored by Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.
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