SyracuseCoE Research & Technology Podcast

Market opportunities and visions for growth

On-site energy storage at buildings is a key component in reducing energy costs for operating buildings, contributing to their decarbonization and increasing their energy resilience.

This panel discussion features three companies working on innovation products for energy storage at buildings. The discussion will center on the market opportunities and visions of three companies seeking to grow their business in this energy sector.

PANELISTS:

Norma Byron, Ashlawn Energy: Batteries (Vanadium redox flow battery)

Ellie Rusling, MicroEra Power: Thermal Storage (tunable phase change materials)

Paul Mutolo, Standard Hydrogen Corp.: Hydrogen Storage (onsite production)

MODERATOR:

Eric A. Schiff, SyracuseCoE, New York’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, Syracuse University

The EPIC Buildings project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to assist and promote companies developing energy hardware innovations for buildings. The project is led jointly by the SyracuseCoE, the Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems at Syracuse University and by the Tech Garden of CenterState CEO. Read more about the EPIC Buildings Accelerator.

The Basics of of Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs)

A SyracuseCoE Research & Technology Forum

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In the U.S., more than 70% of electricity consumption comes from buildings. As the world’s population continues to urbanize, building energy demand will place an increasingly hefty burden on electric power transmission and distribution networks. In addition, the intermittent and unpredictable nature of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy, lead to mismatches in energy supply and demand, resulting in energy price volatility and unstable profiles in building loads and network voltages.

GEB = Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Learn more about GEB

To address these challenges, the Department of Energy's Building Technology Office is developing a Grid-Interactive Efficient Building (GEB) strategy which aims to optimize across distributed energy resources (DERs) to advance the role buildings can play in energy system operations and planning.

Join to learn the basic concepts, potential applications, and current challenges of GEB. The presentation will be followed by Q&A.

This event is part of SyracuseCoE's EPIC Buildings program.

Buildings account for more than 70% of U.S. electricity consumption and power sector CO2 emissions. By combining energy efficiency and demand flexibility, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) can remake buildings into a clean and flexible resource, saving billions in power system costs, reducing carbon emissions and relieving stress on the nation’s grid. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) work to remake buildings into a clean and flexible energy resource by combining energy efficiency and demand flexibility with smart technologies and communications to deliver affordable, comfortable, productive, and high performing homes and buildings.

SyracuseCoE held a kickoff webinar showcasing the new Energy & Equity in Buildings Project based on a $750,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate development and commercialization of innovations for energy hardware innovations, in the upstate New York region, designed to enhance ‘Grid-Interactive’ and Energy & Efficient Buildings.

The panel included Monica Neukomm, Technology Manager for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) in the Energy Department’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), as well as by Ed Bogucz, Bess Krietemeyer, Bing Dong from Syracuse University, and Sarah Hood and Juhanna Rogers from CenterState CEO and Joseph Borowiec from NYSERDA.

For more information about this program, visit the Energy & Equity in Buildings Project webpage or contact Tammy Rosanio at [email protected].

Widespread school closings, like we've seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, create long-term individual and societal costs. It is in the best interest of children and families for schools to remain open. To do that, every effort must be made to keep children healthy.

In the last year, we have learned a great deal about preventing COVID-19 transmission with in-person instruction. The delta variant now challenges us to make use of every layer of prevention. The good news is that children are at a lower risk than adults and there is a new body of evidence that shows that kids can be kept safe at school with a holistic, multi-layered plan to reduce exposure, limit transmission and respond to outbreaks.

This fall, how can schools prioritize risk reduction measures for COVID-19?

We will speak with Harvard researcher and exposure science expert Joseph Allen and East Syracuse Minoa School Superintendent Donna DeSiato to describe the most valuable strategies and how they can be effectively implemented in schools, even with limited budgets and staff.

Read Dr. Allen's guest essay in Monday's New York Times, The Hard Covid-19 Questions We’re Not Asking.

Speakers:

Dr. Joseph G. Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-author of Healthy Buildings

Dr. Donna J. DeSiato, Superintendent, East Syracuse Minoa Central School District

Moderator:

Dr. Eric A. Schiff, Interim Executive Director, SyracuseCoE and Professor of Physics, Syracuse University

A SyracuseCoE Research & Technology Forum and Panel Discussion

What should restaurant goers take into consideration before reserving that table?
What can restaurateurs do to make indoor dining safer?

Approximately one year ago, the coronavirus pandemic shut down some of our favorite places to go – bars and restaurants. Frustrated and desperate, restaurateurs have been agile by innovatively reworking their business models, where possible, just to stay open. Take-out, outdoor dining and ghost kitchens helped keep restaurants afloat, but most state and local guidance does not allow 100% occupancy yet.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. With vaccines rolling out and community transmission rates slowly descending, many are anxiously pondering – how safe is it to go out to eat now?

Listen to a round table discussion with three experts: a buildings expert, a restaurateur and a public health expert who bring perspective and clarity to this complex question. The conversation highlights the factors that contribute to a safer restaurant reopening and dining out experience. Audience members ask the expert panel intriguing questions during the Q&A session.

Panelists:

Charles Bertuch, P.E., Principal, Bergmann Architects, Engineers and Planners

Bertuch has more than 30 years professional experience as a consultant and plant engineer. He is currently Principal - Energy Solutions for Bergmann Associates in Syracuse, NY. He holds a M.S degree in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University.

Visit Bergmann's website.

Caitlin Gambee, Co-Owner, The Brewster Inn, Cazenovia, NY

Gambee focuses on many of the important non-culinary aspects of running an award-winning restaurant and inn. She does the day-to-day bookkeeping as well as managing front desk / concierge staff, overseeing the hotel, managing the marina and all of the consumer-facing communications including website, social media, email blasts, etc. Her background is in marketing and events and she previously ran public relations and community relations campaigns for clients including the Boston Celtics, Dunkin’ Donuts and Converse.

Visit The Brewster's website.

Lisa Letteney, P.E., Director, Division of Environmental Health, Onondaga County Health Department, Syracuse, NY

Letteney is currently the Director of Environmental Health for the Onondaga County Health Department and has been with the department for over 33 years. She holds a M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and is a NYS licensed P.E. (Professional Engineer). In her Director's position she oversees the following programs: Food Protection (Restaurant Inspections), Temporary Residences and Recreational Facilities (Hotel/Motels, swimming pools, beaches, camps), Environmental Lead, Public Water Supply, Septic Systems, Mosquito Control, Rabies, and Tanning.

Visit Onondaga County Health Department's website.

Moderator:

Eric A. Schiff, Ph.D., Interim Executive Director, SyracuseCoE and Professor of Physics, Syracuse University

Ian Shapiro, co-author of the newly released Green Building Illustrated, 2nd Edition, joins Dr. Nina Sharifi, an Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture, to talk about updates to the new edition of the book, including:

• Will central heating systems be replaced by installing heat pumps in every room?
• Shape efficiency helps reduce energy and construction costs. How can we maximize this new metric and retain the character of external features?
• Lighting gains by LEDs and the thermal loss of excessive glazing may sunset a favorite green building strategy. Are the days of daylighting over?

This is Shapiro’s second collaboration with Francis D.K. Ching, the illustrator and co-author of both editions of Green Building Illustrated. Ching is a well-known architecture and design graphics writer. Adobe Originals typeface, Tekton, was modeled after his hand-lettering style and is the font used throughout the book. Both editions present a fully illustrated guide to the theory and practice of sustainable design. The new edition continues to create a typology through strategy, theory and standards, while building the visual lexicon for sustainable design and construction. Students, faculty, practitioners and green building advocates – tune in to join the conversation about new directions in green building! Learn more and purchase your copy at Wiley.com or Amazon.com.

How do we minimize COVID-19 infection risk when we return to school?

Students are heading back to classrooms. Undetected, there may be one who’s infected by COVID-19. Beyond masking, what are the options for teachers and administrators to minimize the spread of disease through the air?

Join us as we talk with Central New York experts about how air can be replaced or purified to help protect classmates and teachers.

When do portable air purifiers make a difference if a superspreader is in the room? How do I choose purifiers that will be effective and economical? Where should I place them?

How can I understand how air moves in my room? What are the possibilities for rearranging the flow to minimize the risk of disease transmission?

Panelists:

Vinny Lobdell, President, Healthway Family of Brands

Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University and Visiting Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Nanjing University, China, SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow

Moderator:

Eric A. Schiff, Ph.D., Interim Executive Director, SyracuseCoE and Professor of Physics, Syracuse University

Experts Agree on Aerosol Transmission of COVID-19: How Can Schools Manage Indoor Air to Stop the Spread?

A new school year is beginning soon. Understanding the ventilation and air quality of indoor spaces is critically important.

With strong recommendations from 239 scientists from 32 countries, including faculty from Syracuse University, the World Health Organization is now acknowledging the evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted through aerosol droplets. Viral particles become airborne when people sneeze, cough, sing, talk or breath.

As students return to campuses and classrooms, how can faculty, teachers and building managers optimize ventilation and filtration strategies to help keep students and faculty healthy? From improved ventilation modifications, to HVAC and air filtration, to physical modification of spaces, we will be discussing the current knowledge of how to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in indoor environments.

Transcript coming soon.

Speakers:

Cliff I. Davidson, Thomas C. and Colleen L. Wilmot Professor of Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program Director of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University

Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University and Visiting Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Nanjing University, China

Mike Wetzel, PE, President & CEO, Air Innovations

Visit the event webpage to view speakers bios.