Research Tracker

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in partnership with a US based global manufacturing services provider will design, construct, and demonstrate an affordable heat pump clothes dryer (HPCD) suitable for the US market. A novel hybrid HPCD will be developed and demonstrated to save at least 50% of the energy used by conventional electric dryers, and will have a payback of less than five years for at least 25% of BPA residential customers.

During BPA's 2016 Multifamily Technical Advisory Group, this technology was evaluated and recommended for future research. BPA is joining with NEEA and Ecotope to conduct a bench test to determine if this will be a viable alternative to conduct future field tests in the Pacific Northwest. The bench test will be document the system performance and noise levels to determine if the unit is ready for more lab and field tests.

Overall goal is to facilitate commercialization of this technology in the Pacific Northwest. This is a continuation of the previous and current work with the Sanden split system heat pump water heater (HPWH). Sanden will provide a UL listed version of its split system HPWH designed for marketing in the US with particular focus on the Pacific Northwest. This project will assess and report on the market readiness of this product after examining: 1) freeze protection strategy and operation for both power on (including circulation and heat tape) and power off; 2) tank port layout and threads from both water heating and combined space and water heating system perspectives; 3) electrical connections; 4) labeling; 5) documentation including user and installation manuals; 6) warranty and service provisions; 7) cost; 8) installation training materials and strategy; and 9) marketing and installation strategies.

The Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program, in partnership with Cowlitz PUD, Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), Idaho Power, Inland Power and Light, Northwest energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Pacific Gas and Electric, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Mitsubishi Electric and Sanden International proposes to conduct research on two types of combined space and water heat pumps in field and controlled experiments in existing homes of various efficiencies and climates. One technology uses carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigerant and will be tested for performance at six field sites and at the PNNL lab homes for efficiency and demand response capability. The second technology uses a conventional refrigerant and combines ductless heat pump space heating and cooling technology with water heating and will be field tested at five locations in the region's hottest and coldest climates as well as in the marine coastal zone. Costs of system installation, monitoring and retrofit will be collected and analyzed.

This project is a controlled field study and lab test that assessed the demand response (DR) potential of split system and unitary heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) that use carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigerant. The researchers included Washington State University (WSU), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Efficiency Solutions, and Ecotope working with Cascade Engineering Services.

Optimize heat pump water heater (HPWH) next generation project for both EE and DR. The major objectives of the project are: 1. Demonstrate and quantify the energy performance of the prototype GE Brillion GeoSpring Hybrid Water Heater with and without exhaust air ducting over heating and cooling conditions in the lab homes 2. Evaluate or quantify the potential for the GE smart grid-enabled HPWH to provide demand response (to both increase/absorb [INC] and decrease/shed/shift [DEC] load) under various price signals sent to the unit. In addition, the proposed project will provide GE information to determine and design the optimal ducting configurations for their unit should they decide to offer this feature as an option for this new-to-the-market unit.

The project is designed to test the ductless heat pump (DHP) in different applications. Fifty-one sites were installed to test different applications including single family, multifamily, manufactured homes , and small commercial across different climate zones. As part of the study, one year of data was collected through sub metering; and pre- and post-billing data were completed and analyzed for each site. Preliminary results have been promising for manufactured homes and single family homes with forced air furnace applications. The study was completed during the spring of 2013. Based on the findings of the study, Single Family and Manufactured Home applications provided sufficient energy savings to warrant presentation to the Regional Technical Forum as new measures in 2015. Both were given a provisional UES (deemed) measure status. DHPs in Manufactured Homes with zonal heat were given a Small Saver measure status.

The project will evaluate alternative defrost methods for use in residential and light commercial Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) in order to reduce the negative effects conventional defrost methods create and improve energy efficiency and overall system performance. The use of a hot gas bypass method, similar to that employed in commercial refrigeration systems, will be investigated, as well as frost-preventing coil coatings. Heat pump prototypes will be constructed in order to enable future design and optimization of heat pump products and their associated control strategies.

The goal of this research project is to determine if it is possible to pre-heat water for swimming pools to save energy. The study is designed to show the efficacy of this application as well as the associated energy savings. In 2016, BPA engineering collected baseline operation data on the existing electric resistance water heater for a residential swimming pool. Early in 2017, the CO2HPWH was installed and monitored. The initial results showed that the system was under performing and a number of modifications are being considered. The current plan is to implement the modifications and monitor the new design through December 2017 to allow for warm and cold weather operation. A final paper will be prepared by February 2018. While this study is focused on the residential sector, the nature and results of this study are also applicable to water heating EE projects in the commercial sector. BPA will generate a summary brief which will inform the region of the results. Its important to build the body of knowledge for CO2 heat pumps and demonstrate the efficacy of a new use case.

This supplemental project has been designed to provide utilities a means of working together in a coordinated fashion to test this concept in field environments. The goals of this supplemental project are: 1. To prove the performance of universal Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) 2045 communications port (comm port) 2. Convince manufacturers that the installation of a simple comm port is very low-cost, and makes their equipment easy to incorporate into any utility demand response (DR) program nationwide so that it could eventually become standard practice on all water heaters. If that can be achieved, then the question of whether or not a customer participates in a utility DR program becomes a simpler customer choice.

This is a continuation of the previous and current work with the Sanden split system HPWH which was funded through TI. To date, 4 installations have been completed in the NW region. Following the successful completion of a Market and Technical Assessment, BPA will seek additional installations to document energy savings; demonstrate the viability of the product in the NW; and produce user and installation manuals to facilitate the market update of this technology.

Ducted mini-splits are currently available for single family applications. Research is required to determine if these units will be more efficient than the traditional ductless heat pumps (DHPs) with back up resistance heating. If the lab test shows that Ducted mini splits provide more sufficient savings then a field test will be implemented.

BPA funded a small field test through NEEA to understand if DHPs could be installed by owners to reduce installation costs to improve cost effectiveness. NEEA received funding to track the 4 installations. There were key learnings from each installation which were documented to share with the region. Preliminary results were reported earlier this year to members of the BPA and NEEA by Ecotope who managed the installations.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has just completed extensive research to determine energy efficiency savings for storm windows. The goal of this project is to obtain residential and possible commercial Unit Energy Savings (UES) measure approval from the Regional Technical Forum (RTF) for interior and exterior low-e storm windows. This work will create the (Simplified Energy Enthalpy Model) SEEM workbook and ProCost model to inform regional savings and cost-effectiveness assumptions, presentation of these data to the RTF in collaboration with RTF staff, and associated documentation.

Ducted mini-splits are currently available for single family applications. Research is required to determine if these units will be more efficient than the traditional ductless heat pumps DHPs with back up resistance heating. This research project will utilize the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Lab Homes to test how the performance of a multi-zone ducted mini split application compares to the traditional single zone DHP with back up resistance heat in a single family application. The PNNL Lab homes provide the opportunity to conduct a side by side experiment with identical homes. Results of this research will determine if BPA should pursue additional field tests.

BPA is seeking to expand multifamily energy efficiency incentive offerings for new and existing construction. The goal is to identify and work out the technical challenges associated with integrating technologies into multifamily buildings. Part of the BPA new multifamily program development work requires building energy modeling comparing multifamily buildings built to Washington State code versus DOE Zero Energy Ready (DOEZER) standards. The project will assess the low-rise multifamily DOE ZER program against the 2015 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) to coordinate the DOE ZER modeling for a target home; and model DOE ZER specifications using SEEM and compare the results to existing 2015 WSEC energy use analysis. Energy savings will be summarized and included in a report describing the analysis methodology, DOEZER and WSEC modeling specifications and the above code savings using one set of target measures.

Design guidelines have helped accelerate the deployment strategies for central hot water systems in multifamily buildings through the Pacific Northwest. This project will deliver two design guidelines for multifamily hot water recirculation loops and central heat pump hot water systems for future use by architects, engineers, contractors and developers by distilling the best practices and findings from recently completed research. Each guideline will present the operating principles, recommended design choices, and give examples where appropriate.

The objective of the research is to test the energy performance and demand reduction capabilities of phase change material (PCM) in conditioned buildings at a USAR site. PCM is a substance used to increase the thermal mass of a building due to its ability to melt and solidify at certain temperatures, providing the capability to store and release large amounts of thermal energy. PCM works in conjunction with traditional insulation to decrease heat gain (or loss) by storing and releasing heat to the conditioned space at different times of the day

The proposal will design, develop, and pilot an Intelligent Connected aggregator platform beginning with selected Residential Connected Smart Thermostats. The objective will be to develop and test a connected device platform that can provide a PNW regional infrastructure to simultaneously manage smart thermostats and other connected devices.

Via a controlled demonstration, this project will provide economic justification and a plan for a market transformation effort to cause all new water heaters sold in the Pacific North West to be sold with the CEA-2045 modular communication interface and to include demand responsive behavior built into the electronic controls so the water heater will be DR ready. Update: This project is progressing. Recently, utility grants were awarded to fund locations for installations later this year.

This project proposes to design, pilot, and verify air-source, CO2 heat pump water heaters for domestic water heating in small-scale multifamily buildings. A second, significant goal of the project is to enable technology transfer.

BPA is working with NEEA to install indoor temperature loggers in 200 single family homes in the upcoming Residential Building Stock Assessments (RBSA) to collect indoor air temperature (IAT) data from (RBSA) homes during the next study period. This IAT data is needed to help establish required baselines for the Smart Thermostat measure initiatives. Installations will start in July 2016 and run through July 2017. Loggers will be collected after 9 months of data collection and analyses will begin. Interim results will be available starting September 2017.

Smart Residential Thermostats Pilot with Franklin PUD. In partnership with Franklin PUD, BPA is conducting a Nest Learning ThermostatTM field pilot study. One hundred seventy three (173) thermostats were installed with the goal of evaluating the thermostats ability to control Residential Air Source Heat Pump operation and realize electricity savings through a pre/post utility billing regressions analysis study. Metering devices were installed in 9 homes to better understand how the Nest Thermostats control the heat pump systems and how people are interacting with these devices. Study results will be available mid year 2016.

To reduce energy use in homes that are becoming tighter, mechanical ventilation is added to maintain Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Smart ventilation technologies are being developed to minimize the energy impact of mechanical ventilation while simultaneously maintaining IAQ. This project will demonstrate the energy savings associated with a smart ventilation technology through a combination of field testing and simulations. The target is to get close to heat recovery ventilation (HRV) performance at much lower cost and complexity; and greater reliability through smart control of simple exhaust (or supply) fans. The project will also develop recommendations for utility programs, other energy efficiency programs and for codes/standards on how to calculate credits for smart ventilation systems.

The goal of this project is to further understanding of the energy saving potential of ducted minisplit heat pumps (DMS) compared to electric resistance heat in the side by side PNNL Lab Homes. This project will provide an experimental plan to evaluate the performance of ducted mini-splits. PNNL will review the current lab and field testing on ducted minisplits to determine the most relevant test case scenarios for this technology and develop an experimental plan to test ducted minisplits in the PNNL Lab Homes, using electric resistance heat and a heat pump as the two baseline cases. As part of the plan, PNNL will identify data needed to develop an EnergyPlus model for ducted minisplits in the Lab Homes which would allow for extrapolation of the energy savings of this technology to other climates or other buildings. If needed, In a second phase of the project, PNNL will implement the experimental plan in the Lab Homes.

The objective of the research is to test the energy performance and demand reduction capabilities of the high-efficiency cellular shading devices and associated automated control strategies in the PNNL matched pair of laboratory homes. Tests outcomes will measure the cost-effective materials for existing homes. examine persistence of savings through Automated Operation of Dynamic Systems, and examine the benefits to of coordinating Cellular Shades with HVAC Demand-Response Events.

The objective of the research is to test the energy performance and demand reduction capabilities of the high-efficiency cellular shading devices and associated automated control strategies in the PNNL matched pair of laboratory homes. BPA funded the final report for phase 1 of this study. Completion of the final report supported the TIP 392 project.

Ecotope, in partnership with Vulcan Real Estate and Seattle City Light proposes to design, pilot and verify a heat pump water heating system for large multifamily buildings using the building sewage as a heat source. The waste water heat pump (WWHP) will recover waste heat streams from the building and heat water for domestic use at extremely high performance levels. The system will be built in a large multifamily building with approximately 400 apartment units. The project team will conduct a feasibility study of the system concept and a numerical model to predict the best equipment sizing and control algorithms. With the feasibility demonstrated the team will move on to full system design in a multifamily building. The team will write a measurement plan to monitor the energy use of the system. The team will commission the system, optimize its operation and prepare a set of design guidelines to be used throughout the engineering community.