Electrification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByXL3CqQ0rg Mike Ragan from Mitsubishi Electric discussed unique applications of refrigerant-to-water heat exchangers in VRF heat pump systems, reducing the amount of refrigerant in the system or outright eliminates refrigerant from occupied spaces. And advancements in VRF product development in Hybrid VRF and Domestic Hot Water heat pump systems, systems available beginning in 2021.

Cost Estimating for Passive House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezo42gw6jdc Ken Neuhauser and Wesley Stanhope of Building Evolution Corporation (BEC) discussed the cost impacts of higher performance buildings and passive house improvements. What are the impacts of Passive House and should the sub-contractors worry (worry = money).

Ventilation and Air Purification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctYHeYNyhm4 Kevin Seaman President of Seaman Engineering Corporation (SEC), discussed ventilation and air purification strategies for buildings, including options available to promote IAQ, such as ionizing air purification, UV light treatment, and filtration. SEC continue to assess and plan for improved ventilation filtration in existing municipal buildings across the state.

Electrification – All Electric Technologies to Support a Low Carbon Future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9dW4Vorodk Once fossil fuels are burned in building operations they cannot be offset; therefore, to hit the drastic carbon reduction goals set by the State of NY, transforming the technologies in buildings to become electrically based will be paramount. Come for a discussion of common building system components and the available all-electric replacement options. A […]

Building Commissioning; Everything is Connected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V746_Wl03C8 Wesley Stanhope and Ken Neuhauser of Building Evolution Corporation (BEC) explain that buildings are comprised of potentially competing system that are expected to work in harmony with each other. Commissioning (Cx) is a living and adaptive process that can be implemented at any point throughout the lifespan of a building, ensuring that the building […]

Responsible Incremental Development: why empowering small-scale developers is good policy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mFhsfDb5PA Taylor Bearden of Civico Development discussed a big-picture perspective on the levers that make change in Worcester and why our housing stock deteriorates while prices (and rental rates) go up. Also, why he thinks the dialogue about incremental development must become more nuanced. And lastly, why innovating at this scale is necessary to address […]

Triple-Decker Renovations: What is Value?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS8SwxdAXaw This month, Chris will continue our examination of Worcester’s housing stock with a presentation on simple – and complex – measures to improve a building’s performance. Chris’s experience specialized in residential energy efficiency. He has performed more than 3000 home energy assessments throughout his career. His hands-on experience crawling through attics and building performance […]

Mill Building Electrification with minimal refrigerant

https://youtu.be/_8rzszZbYEs Wesley Stanhope of Building Evolution Corporation (BEC) will discuss how large historical multi-family buildings can not only accommodate Heating and Cooling upgrades eliminating fossil fuels, but can do so with minimal refrigerant distribution. Not only does this reduce the carbon footprint, in some applications it is more cost effective than traditional systems.