We launched an open-source web tool to support building decarbonization analysis during early design phases, and new research to guide design with natural ventilation. We also welcome three new industry partners bringing valuable expertise across construction, development and design. Graduates join industry partner firms and academia, and papers gain awards.
This spring CBE’s team is at the forefront of the conversation on building performance, decarbonization, and professional leadership. We are co-hosting a symposium on circularity, presenting in key conferences, and announcing news on new research, energy code revisions, and numerous latest publications.
Upcoming events include case studies and online tools for understanding marginal emissions profiles, plus strategies to shift loads and reduce emissions. Noah Zallen, Managing Principal for Energy Strategy / Climate & Sustainability at Introba, will take on the role as CBE’s Partner Vice Chair. We announce a new two-year study to understand and predict the experience of occupants viewing the outdoors through various shading and glazing materials.
As the year comes to a close, we want to acknowledge the many individuals, companies and organizations whose support makes our research both possible and impactful. In spite of new challenges, our community is resilient and we remain focused and committed to our shared mission. We also announce the winner and honorable mentions for the 2025 Livable Buildings Award, plus news and publications.
This spring and summer, a team of CBE researchers traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to launch a new and unique field study to evaluate the benefits of fans in reducing heat stress and improving work performance in a manufacturing facility without air conditioning. This work is critical as summer temperatures and heat waves are increasing, along with the growth of such industrial and logistical facilities. The project is supported by CBE’s industry consortium partners Big Ass Fans, and the team includes experts on heat and health from the University of Sydney.
This summer we are excited to announce new funding to support research on low-carbon materials and adaptive reuse. We also share new media that disseminates our work, along with updates on our growing membership, awards and publications.
In this edition of Centerline we share recent news about staff recognition, funding to create radiant system guidelines, and highlights of new publications on embodied carbon, HVAC innovations, insights and marginal emissions. We also have updates on conferences and other inspiring gatherings, including the ‘Women of Carbon’ film screening at UC Berkeley.
As we wrap up 2024, we are excited to share updates on recent work and also about upcoming events where our research team will share our results with broad audiences from industry and academia. Much of this work benefits from the invaluable contributions of our industry partners and research affiliates that include companies and academic institutions from around the world.
This summer five members of the CBE community received recognition for conference papers and for career contributions, plus travel funding to support conference participation. Three of the awards were presented at the 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference, and two at Indoor Air 2024. We commend these well-deserved awards and in this post highlight the efforts leading to them.
This spring CBE’s research team was thrilled to learn we had won two major funding awards from the California Energy Commission. These winning proposals were led by the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) who will lead the future work in close collaboration with CBE researchers and other contributors. Both projects are multi-year efforts, each with a wide range of research activities and deliverables, and leverage CBE’s collective knowledge, capabilities and our extensive network of industry and academic partners.