Dear Florida Homeowner,

Are you interested in saving money on your utility bills?  Do you wish your home used less energy and was more comfortable? Have you considered investing in a major home renovation? If so, your home may qualify for a free energy assessment, incentives through your local utility company, and free technical assistance from one of the nation’s leading national laboratories.

UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is partnering with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to help homeowners achieve 30 to 50 percent energy savings through home efficiency retrofits!  If your house qualifies, your renovation will be part of a research study for PNNL that can help inform the nation about retrofit best practices. 

PNNL and FSEC are looking for homes that meet the following criteria:

• Home was built prior to 2005 (at least 5 yrs. old)
• Home primarily uses a central heating and cooling system (wood stoves, fireplaces, whole house fans or other unusual systems cannot be primary heating or cooling system)
• Home is occupied year-round by the owner
• Owners do not open windows often when the HVAC system is on
• Owners do not have business (other than small home office) or other unusual energy intensive equipment in the home
• Owners do not allow smoking in the home

If your home meets the preceding criteria and you are interested in saving money on your utility bills and improving the energy efficiency of your home, complete the online form at http://deepenergyretrofits.pnnl.gov/documents/informational.doc to express your interest. For more information, visit http://deepenergyretrofits.pnnl.gov or contact Karen Sutherland, ksutherland@fsec.ucf.edu or 321-638-1474.

Please note: Participation in this research project will include construction activity that may produce elevated levels of particulate matter and chemical emissions during the days such activity is conducted and for up to a few days after that.  This normally does not pose a hazard to healthy persons, but persons with acute respiratory illness, multiple chemical sensitivities, or other diseases or sensitivities may experience aggravated symptoms as a result of this activity. Homeowners are urged to consider this factor before choosing to participate in this study.

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Philip Fairey, deputy director of FSEC, receives the Building Efficiency Lifetime Leadership (BELL) award from Johnson Controls.

Philip Fairey, deputy director of the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), is the recipient of the Johnson Controls’ second annual Building Efficiency Lifetime Leadership (BELL) award. The BELL Award recognizes individuals who have devoted many years of their career to energy efficiency, sustainability or renewable energy.

Johnson Controls, a leader in energy efficiency and sustainability, presented the award at their Green Tie Affair – a customer appreciation event – held in conjunction with the Greenbuild Conference last week in Phoenix, AZ.

Fairey’s nearly 30 years of experience in buildings research has advanced renewable energy and energy efficiency in Florida. His significant contributions include the development of moisture transport control and radiant barrier technology, advanced cooling and dehumidification systems, and energy analysis software tools.

At the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center, Fairey develops and leads research and technology initiatives, including the EnergyGauge^® suite of building energy analysis software tools. He holds several U.S. patents, and he has published more than 100 articles, papers and books. Fairey is a member of two standards committees of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, and is president of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), the nation’s premier organization in the development of home energy rating system standards.

“Philip’s leadership in buildings research at FSEC has led to significant Florida energy codes and standards improvements, saving more than $100 million annually in energy costs. I’m pleased to see his efforts recognized,” said Jim Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center.

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A more sustainable form of transportation, the new monorail is designed to move both people and freight high above traffic congestion. In addition to its solar component, the monorail will use lighter aviation materials to reduce energy use.

“Innovations such as this will contribute to a sustainable energy future and provide a fast, safe, practical and socially responsible mode of transportation for people and freight while reducing the environmental impact of transportation,” said Karl Guenther, CEO of STC and the grant’s primary investigator.

William Young, Jr., a senior research engineer at FSEC, is working closely with Guenther and a team of accomplished engineers, including Francis Knize, Co-PI and Dan Simpson of STC, Douglas Tobin of ARC International, Hector Guevara of Nu Dimensions Group, George Taylor of Largo Railroad, and Jan Zicha of Zicha Engineering.

This team is developing innovative alternative transit technology that will evaluate the use of a proprietary transverter and other energy devices. A mini charging station will be constructed for evaluating this new hardware. The partnership will demonstrate transferring energy, from the source to the monorail, faster than existing technology. STC has been researching to build the most technologically advanced transportation system for fourteen years, with 63 claims patented.

The system will be built as a demonstration model to showcase the nation’s leadership and dedication to energy-efficient public transportation. This DOE grant is the first of many that will further a planned life-size demonstration to be executed within three years.

The results of this research grant will be used to develop a future monorail system that will transport visitors throughout the 74 acres of the Museum Of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Fla., and once funding is obtained, plans to connect the system to Busch Gardens and the University of South Florida.

Additional information may be found a www.stc-in.com.

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The MyFloridaGreenBuilding.info Web site offers energy-efficiency tips for new construction and existing homes, information on local green building programs, green rating systems, rebates and incentives, calculators, and case studies on certified green buildings in Florida.

This  Web site was developed by FSEC, directed by the Florida Building Commission and the Department of Community Affairs, to give Floridians a green buildings Web site that promotes energy efficiency and the benefits of building green.

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FSEC is located at UCF’s Cocoa campus, shared with Brevard Community College, at 1679 Clearlake Road. Tours will take place at 10 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 2 p.m. each day. Each tour will last about 50 minutes. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling 321-638-1015 or sending an e-mail to info@fsec.ucf.edu.

FSEC, in partnership with the American Solar Energy Society, is coordinating this effort in what has become the largest demonstration of installed renewable energy technologies and energy efficient building practices in the country. Amid rising energy costs and concerns about climate change, the tour enables participants to see how neighbors are saving money on utility bills and protecting the environment by using clean sources of energy and reducing energy demand.

About 100,000 people across the United States are expected to participate in the 12th-annual tour, which will be offered in 46 states. A complete list of scheduled events can be viewed at www.NationalSolarTour.org.

A recent survey showed that a majority of people who attend a tour later add sustainable energy technologies to their homes or buildings. That can have a profound and positive effect on the environment. According to 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, residential and commercial buildings generate approximately 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The Florida Solar Energy Center is a research institute of the University of Central Florida. It is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in the country. Center divisions and their research activities include Advanced Energy Research: alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells; Buildings Research: energy-efficient buildings; and Solar Energy: solar water and pool heating and solar electric (photovoltaics) and distributed generation systems. For more information, visit www.floridaenergycenter.org or call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.

The American Solar Energy Society is the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a sustainable U.S. energy economy. ASES develops leading programs that increase the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency across the nation. For more information, go to www.ases.org.

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That’s the message from Dr. James Fenton, Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), in a presentation he gave before the state’s Senate Committee on Communications and Public Utilities on January 10.

In making a case for increasing the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy as means of achieving energy independence in Florida’s future, Dr. Fenton illustrated how the state could reduce Florida’s current projected requirement for 75 trillion additional kilowatt-hours of energy use by 2014 by more than 25 percent. With approximately $187 million in state incentives, Florida should be able to attract an equal amount of federal tax credits for builders and homeowners while saving more than 4 trillion kilowatt hours and $450 million in consumer electrical costs each year.

The FSEC study also showed significant additional benefits to the state of 126,000 new jobs, avoidance of almost 1,700 megawatts of new power generation plants, the production of $420 million dollars in tradable renewable energy credits for the state and a savings of more than 26 million tons of atmospheric CO2 release. The state would also avoid fuel purchases from outside the state of more than $1.2 billion, keeping Florida’s hard earned capital within the state to generate economic activity and jobs growth.

Dr. Fenton’s complete Power Point presentation, “Taking Charge of Our Energy Future: Choosing the Better Pie,” can be downloaded from http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/energynews/2006/2006-02-energyuse2014.htm.

The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research center in the country. Current research activities include solar water and pool heating, solar electric and distributed generation systems, energy-efficient buildings, alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel, fuel cells and other energy areas. For more information about the center, visit http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/ or call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at (321) 638-1015.

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To assist applicants for the grants in meeting the requirements for the Farm Bill Funds, the FSEC workshops will examine qualifying renewable energy (RE) and energy efficient technologies and provide a basic overview of how these technologies work. There will also be case studies of rural renewable energy and efficiency applications with a focus on solar and biomass.

The workshops will review each aspect of the application process. Each participant will work with a sample application, following the steps to applying while identifying potential projects and considering methods to secure project financing and to locate contractors and technology experts. Strategies will be presented for designing the project and dealing with permitting issues, as well as conducting a payback analysis. The workshop will finish with an open question and answer forum.

These free workshops are available to rural businesses and cooperatives and all agencies with an interest in pursuing these funds as well as low interest loans through USDA’s Farm Bill Program.

To register for a workshop, go to www.sunsmart.org/workshop_registration.htm and choose one of the following workshop dates:
* May 18, 2005 (Tallahassee, Florida)
* May 23, 2005 (Stuart, Florida)

You can also register by calling Jennifer Szaro at 321-638-1427.

Lunch will be sponsored by the Florida Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation (FLASEREF).

For more information about the workshops, contact Jennifer Szaro at 321-638-1427, jszaro@fsec.ucf.edu.

The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research center in the country. Current research activities include solar water and pool heating, solar electric and distributed generation systems, energy-efficient buildings, alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel, fuel cells and other energy areas. For more information about the center, visit www.fsec.ucf.edu or call the FSEC Public Information Office at (321) 638-1015.

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