Better Buildings Webinars

Developed by DOE and the National Laboratories, the Home Energy Score™ provides homeowners, buyers, and renters comparable and credible information about a home’s energy use. Like a miles-per-gallon rating for a car, the Home Energy Score is based on a standard assessment of energy-related assets to easily compare energy use across the housing market. Watch this webinar to learn more about the program and how it can be useful in your residential market.

The electrification of multifamily buildings is crucial to address climate change and ensure the health of residents. Electrification can decrease exposure to indoor air allergens and pollutants linked to conditions like asthma and low birth weights. Watch this webinar to better understand how this information can lead to additional funding and support for building upgrades.

Speakers: John Kane, Boston Housing Authority; Yu Ann Tan, RMI

DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities Expert Match program helps communities explore clean energy questions, challenges, and opportunities across sectors including buildings, transportation, grid infrastructure, and energy resilience. The program also supports communities in modernizing commercial buildings to improve energy efficiency and quality of life for residents. Watch this webinar to hear from local leaders from Unincorporated Norcross, Georgia about how the Expert Match program helped their community envision a path forward for building modernization and future clean energy developments through short-term, tailored assistance, and learn how to apply for the program.

The Building Envelope Campaign is designed to help building owners and managers enhance the energy efficiency of their buildings. One of the campaign's objectives is to acknowledge leaders who successfully implemented a high-performance building envelope. Watch this webinar for an overview of the Building Envelope Campaign, including highlights from this year’s awardees as they share their high-performance building envelope projects. 

Speakers: Dean Stanberry, IFMA; Derril McDonald, Instacoat; Justin O. Ahern, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. 

Most commercial buildings in the U.S. are small- to medium-sized and have packaged HVAC Rooftop Unit (RTU) equipment. In the past decade, control technology options for RTUs have expanded significantly, offering energy savings of up to 10%-20%. Watch this webinar for an overview of current RTU control technology capabilities and hear from two building owners who are taking advantage of the benefits they offer. Attendees will also learn about DOE’s new Smarter Small Buildings Campaign that provides technical assistance and recognition opportunities for RTU control implementation.

Speakers: Annie Secrest, County of San Luis Obispo; Devin Messerschmidt, Sheetz, Inc.; Nora Hart, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Community solar makes the benefits of solar energy accessible and creates a renewable energy pathway for those unable to install traditional rooftop solar systems. By utilizing this strategy, communities can enhance resilience, workforce development, and cost savings while increasing solar energy accessibility for low- to moderate-income households. Watch this webinar to learn more about the benefits of community solar, get resources from the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), and find out how Better Buildings partners are planning and implementing best practices to encourage equitable community solar systems. 

Speakers: Anna Balzer, U.S. Department of Energy; Marcel Rodgers, Sunwealth; Thomas Grant, The Wendy's Company

Heat pumps can be used as a decarbonization strategy in many building sizes and types to provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water without fossil fuels, but implementation remains a challenge for many owners. Watch this webinar to gain insights from multiple building stakeholders on the top 5 things building owners need to know about heat pumps to leverage them as an effective decarbonization solution. 

Speakers: Skander Spies, McKinstry; Jess Farber, CMTA; Paul Torcellini, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Drake Wahlers, Leopardo; Ben Myers, BXP

Watch this Waste Reduction Network's Quarterly Webinar where outcomes and success stories were discussed from the completed Manufacturing Waste Reduction Virtual In-Plant (VINPLT) Training. The Manufacturing Waste Reduction VINPLT convened a discussion among a group of U.S. manufacturers on a range of topics including waste diversion and reduction, measuring and tracking waste streams, solutions for managing and reducing waste streams, and how to develop a roadmap to Zero Waste.

Speakers included Alanie Hooton, Environmental Engineer at Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, and Tami Moore, Safety and Sustainability Manager at Navistar Inc. who shared their experiences and lessons learned from the Manufacturing Waste Reduction VINPLT Training.

In healthcare facilities, large plug and process loads pose a significant obstacle to reducing on-site energy consumption. Sub-metering medical equipment allows landlords and property managers to understand energy use patterns and helps energy managers match reduction strategies to different equipment types. Watch this webinar to learn about how Better Buildings healthcare partners deploy submetering strategies to identify energy savings opportunities.

Speakers: Kim Trenbath, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Gail Lee, University of California, San Francisco; Jacquelyn Tompkins, Mazzetti; Dan Mendonsa, University of Califonia, Davis. 

Commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technologies are evolving and will soon develop into useful efficiency innovations that can be used to reduce the carbon footprint and energy use for buildings and businesses. Watch this webinar to discuss heat pump technologies and others on the horizon, and how buildings are currently implementing cutting-edge equipment.

Speakers: Antonio Bouza​, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Xudong Wang, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute.​