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Two Reminders of Why I Do What I Do

Submitted by Jennifer Love on Thu, 11/19/2015 - 14:32

I recently went to two events, a LEED for Homes Rater Training in Chicago and a Passive House California conference in Palo Alto. These separate events reinforced two things that I had lost focus of in the day-to-day business of being an energy and sustainability consultant. The first is that California is so far ahead of the pack when it comes to sustainable building. So much of what people in other parts of the country struggle with is already codified in California.

Category: 
News + Events

Building Carbon Zero California: Friday, November 13 in Palo Alto

Submitted by Katy Hollbacher on Mon, 10/19/2015 - 09:02
Building Carbon Zero Palo Alto
  • Friday, November 13, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Lucie Stern Community Center, Palo Alto, California

Beyond Efficiency will be presenting Case Study: 412 Olive Avenue Office, One Year Later. Come learn about the project's challenges, successes and performance results!

Category: 
News + Events

Consultant to Consultant: Six Essential Lessons from the Trenches

Submitted by Katy Hollbacher on Wed, 08/20/2014 - 13:33

Beyond Efficiency will be presenting at two upcoming Passive House conferences and we hope to see you in California, Maine, or both:

9th Annual North American Passive House Conference

September 11-14, 2014
San Francisco Bay Area, California
Presenter: Katy Hollbacher, P.E.

Category: 
News + Events
Technical

Controls, Co-gen and Cooling: Retrocommissioning at UC Santa Cruz

Submitted by Lizzie Adams on Thu, 07/31/2014 - 06:19

As part of the year-long PG&E Retrocommissioning class, the 20 or so participants and three teachers took a two-day field trip down to UC Santa Cruz. There are three aspects that make UC Santa Cruz a retrocommissioning dream location: a) the very invested and progressive facilities staff, b) the wide variety of complex systems on-site, and c) the campus-wide system interactions. As a bonus, UC Santa Cruz also has a gorgeous campus—small clusters of buildings hidden amongst soaring redwoods and cool, misty air.

Category: 
Technical

Energy Modeling for Architects: Friday, May 23

Submitted by Katy Hollbacher on Mon, 05/19/2014 - 06:21

What your energy consultant should know and isn’t teaching you.

*Presentation posted- see below*
Category: 
News + Events

Upcoming Event: High Performance Window Panel

Submitted by Katy Hollbacher on Wed, 04/16/2014 - 06:07

On April 27th, Passive House California is hosting a High Performance Window Panel. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what makes a window "high performance" and to meet some of your local window experts. Networking and beer are included, and the meeting will kick off with an introduction to Passive House. 3pm start, $10 for non-members, $5 for supporters and free for members. Held at the Pyramid Brewery in Berkeley.

Category: 
News + Events

Retrocommissioning: The Class

Submitted by Lizzie Adams on Tue, 11/19/2013 - 08:05

For the past four months, I've spent a day a month at the Pacific Energy Center in an intensive retrocommissioning class. For those not familiar with retrocommissioning, it's essentially a treasure hunt for poorly performing systems in existing buildings. Identifying and fixing these "poor performers" can save energy, water and resources, as well as improve comfort. And the savings can be significant- typically between 5 and 20% of operating costs depending on the facility.

Category: 
Projects
Technical

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