Multifamily Buildings Presentations at ACEEE "Summer Study" Conference - August 11-17

If you haven't plugged in to the ACEEE "Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings" -- this might be a good year to do so. Every two years, ACEEE assembles experts with a vast amount of solid, peer-reviewed energy efficiency research. The week-long conference in Monterey, California is a great geek-fest.

This is not a down and dirty, get-the-hay-down-to-the-goats deal. Most of the presenters are are in front of the EE pack. The Summer Study is where to learn about what has promise for five or ten years down the road. There are a lot of sessions this summer on LED lighting applications, impacts from smart meter deployment, and developing plug load strategies. (The buzzword is apparently "MEL" -- miscellaneous electric load." Can't be a player unless you know the jargon!) 

Specifically on MFBs, there will be sessions on DHW distribution and MFB program design. I think the ductless (mini-split) heat pump session will be oriented toward SF housing, but if you aren't boning up on this one for small/medium MFBs, you should be... There's a whole section on building operator training that I expect will be mostly about commercial buildings, but will be applicable to MFBs. There will be two informal sessions on comprehensive MFB retrofits and DOE's work in progress to support MFB weatherization. 

A week is a long time to commit. So, if you can't make the conference, they publish all the papers online after the conference. (but you'll miss all the great bull sessions.)  Go to < http://aceee.org/conferences/2012/ssb > for more info.