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This library of educational resources has been developed specifically for contractors participating in the Commercial, Industrial, Local Government and/or Multifamily Clean Energy Programs.
  • Energy Star Program - ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect our climate through superior energy efficiency.

  • Building Energy Asset Score - The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Energy Asset Score (Asset Score) is a national standardized tool for assessing the physical and structural energy efficiency of commercial and multifamily residential buildings. The Asset Score generates a simple energy efficiency rating that enables comparison among buildings and identifies opportunities to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. It is available for voluntary use and is 100% free to use.

  • US DOE Building Technologies Office - The US Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office leads a vast network of research and industry partners to continually develop innovative, cost-effective energy-saving solutions—better products, better new homes, better ways to improve older homes, and better buildings in which we work, shop, and lead our everyday lives.

  • US DOE Building Technologies Office: BTO Digest -The Building Technologies Office Digest provides a roundup of the latest news, funding opportunities, reports, events, and webinars from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Building Technologies Office. Subscribe here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/bto-digest-office-newsletter

  • US DOE Building Technologies Office: Emerging Technologies Program BTO's Emerging Technologies (ET) Program enables cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies to be developed and introduced into the marketplace. ET funds and directs applied research and development (R&D) for technologies and tools that support building energy efficiency.  Specific areas of focus include: HVAC, Water Heating, and Appliances; Windows and Building Envelope; Solid-State Lighting; Whole-Building Energy Modeling (BEM); Sensors and Controls; Buildings-to-Grid Integration.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: BEopt - The Building Energy Optimization (BEopt™) tool evaluates single-family detached and multifamily building designs and identifies the most cost-effective whole-house efficiency packages to achieve zero energy. The tool analyzes new construction and existing home retrofits, evaluating single building designs, parametric sweeps, and cost-based optimizations.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: EnergyPlus - EnergyPlus® is the Building Technology Office’s state-of-the-art open-source building energy modeling (BEM) simulation engine. It provides the detailed and validated physics-based algorithms needed by building designers and researchers to accurately model whole-building system energy performance to inform integrated design, early-stage and advanced R&D, standards, policy, and investment decision-making.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: forsee - foresee™ uses machine-learning algorithms, advanced data analytics, and physics-based modeling and simulation to derive data-driven appliance models and energy use patterns within a home and predict future energy consumption while coordinating the operation of connected appliances. This secure home automation system takes occupants' personal habits and priorities into account and automatically creates energy-saving scenarios homeowners can comfortably implement.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: OpenStudio CBC - The OpenStudio® platform is a collection of open-source software tools that brings together physics-based BEM, large-scale computing capabilities, and data science tools to enable a broad range of building energy analysis applications. The platform includes a software development kit for programmatic access to BEM engines including EnergyPlus®, support for scripting and workflow automation called OpenStudio Measures, prototype building models and standards-related model transformations via the OpenStudio Standards gem, and large-scale simulation analyses on local, cluster, and cloud resources via the OpenStudio Server.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Technology Performance Exchange - The Technology Performance Exchange™ provides consumers, manufacturers, vendors, modelers, researchers, and utilities standardized product data to facilitate and improve assessments and comparisons of building-related products. This is a centralized, web-based portal for finding and sharing information on cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies.

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: URBANopt - The URBANopt (Urban Renewable Building And Neighborhood optimization) advanced analytics platform supports the design and optimization of urban districts and helps plan the integration of high-efficiency, sustainable energy technologies community-wide.

  • COMFEN - A tool to analyze and optimize facade options for commercial buildings, capabilities include evaluation of energy consumption, daylighting, glare, and thermal comfort.

  • Cool Roofs Fact Sheet U.S. Department of Energy brochure on cool roofs; describing the science behind cool roofs, how to purchase cool roof materials, and the benefits of cool roofs.

  • Roof Savings Calculator - The Roof Savings Calculator was developed as an industry-consensus roof savings calculator for commercial and residential buildings using whole-building energy simulations. An annual simulation of hour-by-hour performance is calculated for the building properties provided based on weather data for the selected location. Annual energy savings reported are based upon heating and cooling loads and thus this calculator is only relevant to buildings with a heating and/or cooling unit.

  • WUFI - WUFI is a menu-driven PC program which allows realistic calculation of the transient coupled one-dimensional heat and moisture transport in multi-layer building components exposed to natural weather. It is based on the newest findings regarding vapor diffusion and liquid transport in building materials and has been validated by detailed comparison with measurements obtained in the laboratory and on outdoor testing fields.

  • Cool Roof Calculator - Estimates cooling and heating savings for flat roofs with non-black surfaces.

  • BuildingGreen - BuildingGreen, Inc. is an independent, mission-based consultancy and publisher based in Brattleboro, Vermont. For over 20 years, BuildingGreen has been the trusted source on healthy and sustainable design and construction strategies available online and in-person through consulting and training services.

  • National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) - Established by Congress, NIBS is non-profit, non-governmental organization bringing together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to focus on the identification and resolution of problems that hamper the construction of safe, affordable structures for housing, commerce and industry throughout the United States. The Institute provides an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sector of the economy with respect to the use of building science and technology.

  • Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) - Maintained by the National Institute of Building Sciences, the WBDG is the only web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria and technology from a 'whole buildings' perspective. Currently organized into three major categories—Design Guidance, Project Management and Operations & Maintenance—at the heart of the WBDG are Resource Pages, reductive summaries on particular topics.

  • ASHRAE - ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.

  • High Performing Buildings - Published in conjunction with ASHRAE, High Performing Buildings magazine describes measured performance of practices and technologies to promote better buildings, presenting case studies that feature integrated building design practices and improved operations and maintenance techniques. Practical solutions are presented through case studies that include measured performance data and lessons learned through the design, construction and operation of today’s best-performing buildings measured through sustainability, efficiency and whole-building performance.

  • ASHRAE’s Building EQ Portal - ASHRAE's Building EQ Portal provides a quick energy analysis that benchmarks a building's energy performance. Building EQ assists in the preparation of an ASHRAE Level 1 Energy Audit to identify means to improve a building's energy performance including low-cost, no-cost energy efficiency measures and an Indoor Environmental Quality survey with recorded measurements to provide additional information to assess a building's performance.

  • Advanced Energy Design Guides - ASHRAE, in collaboration with AIA (American Institute of Architects), IES (Illuminating Engineering Society), USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) and the DOE (Department of Energy) continues to develop the Advanced Energy Design Guide (AEDG) Series.   The zero energy Guides offer designers and contractors the tools needed for achieving zero energy buildings. The 50% Guides offer designers and contractors the tools needed for achieving a 50% energy savings compared to buildings that meet the minimum requirements of Standard 90.1-2004, and the 30% Guides offer a 30% energy savings compared to buildings that meet the minimum energy requirements of Standard 90.1-1999.

  • ASHRAE Technology Portal - ASHRAE Technology Portal is a one-stop location for ASHRAE papers, articles, reports, and seminar recordings. ASHRAE Members have free access to download ASHRAE Journal articles and ASHRAE Research Reports. ASHRAE Transactions and Conference Papers and seminar recordings from ASHRAE conferences are also available to Members and nonmembers by subscription.

  • Association of Energy Engineers - The Association of Energy Engineers® (AEE) is a nonprofit professional society of over 18,000 members in more than 100 countries. The mission of AEE is “to promote the scientific and educational interests of those engaged in the energy industry and to foster action for Sustainable Development.”  AEE offers a full array of informational outreach programs including seminars (live and online), conferences, journals, books, and certification programs.

  • Building Commissioning Association - The Building Commissioning Association (BCxA) is an international non-profit organization that serves as the recognized authority and resource on commissioning. BCxA’s mission is to guide the building commissioning industry by advancing best practices and education throughout the building industry, and promoting the benefits of building commissioning to achieve buildings that work. The BCxA supports certification programs that set a high bar for the commissioning professionals who manage the total building commissioning process.

  • BCxA New Construction Building Commissioning Best Practices Guide - The New Construction Building Commissioning Best Practice guide covers a general new construction commissioning process that is applicable to most building systems and assemblies. It is process driven, with allowable flexibility for unique conditions, and where a practice seems unclear by its varied application, more detail is given.

  • BCxA Existing Building Commissioning Best Practices Guide - This document defines the qualities and characteristics of best commissioning practices in order to promote those practices in the built environment.

  • California Commissioning Collaborative (CCC) - CCC is recognized as a leader on matters related to commissioning.  CCC’s goal is to improve overall building performance by delivering cost-effective trainings, educational information, tools, and research, with a specific focus on identifying opportunities and promoting solutions that enable the building commissioning process in California.

  • Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is an alliance of more than 140 Northwest utilities and energy efficiency organizations working to advance energy efficiency on behalf of more than 13 million energy consumers.

  • NEEA Emerging Technology Reports - The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) publishes quarterly reports on emerging technologies that can reduce energy consumption in homes and business across the Northwest.