Los Alamos Meeting: The Path to Zero Energy Buildings

Topic: The Path to Zero Energy Buildings

Speaker: Paul Torcellini, PhD, PE
Principal Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Associate Professor at Eastern Connecticut State University       

Presentation Info

Zero Energy Buildings have come to the forefront of the “next thing” in commercial building performance. Questions as to technical viability and costs are seen as barriers to even producing pilots of these buildings. Questions about “what they are” are tossed about the literature. This presentation will look at what they are and what is needed to change the paradigm of buildings from energy consumers to energy producers. Design guidance provided by ASHRAE will be discussed and case studies of actual buildings presented.  Processes used by early adopters will be discussed. Many of the strategies can be used on existing buildings and new construction to achieve deep energy savings.

Speaker Bio

Paul is a recognized expert in zero energy buildings having spoken widely on the subject and published numerous papers on the subject. Among his many awards, Paul has received two ASHRAE Technology Awards for his energy-efficient buildings work and two Energy User News magazine's Efficient Building Awards. Paul has been key in the development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide series from ASHRAE and has chaired two of the guides for K-12 schools and grocery stores.

Paul is a Principal Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado and on the faculty of Eastern Connecticut State University. He holds a PhD. from Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering and is a Registered Professional Engineer.

Source: https://www.nrel.gov/research/paul-torcellini.html