The Florida ENERGY STAR^® Residential HVAC Rebate Program is designed to encourage existing homeowners to replace their old energy-inefficient heating and cooling system with a properly-sized energy efficient system and to ensure that their heating and cooling duct system has minimal leakage.

Each home must have their ducts tested to assure they are not extremely leaky, in order to receive the rebate. The required duct test must be performed after installation. If your ductwork is difficult to access in order to make repairs, then you may want to have your ductwork tested prior to signing a contract to participate. Most homes will have ducts that pass the test, while others will have leaks that can be repaired.

Most Class 1 Residential Energy Raters have the equipment and are certified to test the duct system. Find a list of energy raters at http://www.energygauge.com/search.htm (select ‘Class 1 Res’ in the search filter).

If your ductwork is found to be extremely leaky, such that you won’t be eligible for the rebate, you may want to consider the expense of replacing or repairing the ductwork. If your current ductwork is extremely leaky and in a confined attic space with limited access, you may even want to consider a new duct system installed below your ceiling, so the ductwork is in the conditioned space, saving an extra 5 to 10%.  Some homes have exposed ducts, while others build a second drop-down ceiling around the ductwork.

In addition to Class 1 Energy Raters, the state rebate program allows for Licensed Mechanical Contractors and Certified Test and Balance Professionals to verify the duct tightness. In order for those professionals to learn how to test, FSEC is offering a two-day course on duct testing, Duct Testing 101.

Information and registration for the Duct Testing 101 course are available at http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/go/ducttesting101

Full Energy Rater training is available at http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/education/cont_ed/bldg/erater.php.

Information about the full requirements of the Florida ENERGY STAR^® Residential HVAC Rebate Program can be found at http://www.rebates.com/floridahvac/.

Gordon Holness, president of ASHRAE (left), and Jeff Littleton, executive vice president of ASHRAE (right), recognize Charles Cromer as an ASHRAE Fellow for his significant contributions in the HVAC field.

The Florida Solar Energy Center’s Charles Cromer was selected as a Fellow at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2010 Winter Conference last month in Orlando.

The honor is granted to members who have attained unusual distinction in the field of heating, refrigeration, air conditioning or ventilation (HVAC).

Cromer, program director of the Appliance Laboratory at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center, has made significant contributions in the HVAC field. His invention of the Cromer Cycle air-conditioning system provides more energy-efficient dehumidification than standard air conditioners or dehumidifiers.

His innovation can be found in operating rooms, and it even conditions the room displaying the first flag of the United States.

Cromer has received three patents for his concept of the Cromer Cycle, and it is now commercially known as the Trane CDQ (Cool, Dry, Quiet) option. Trane Inc. and Oak Ridge National Lab were instrumental in the product development.

The Cromer Cycle was recognized as the Frost and Sullivan Best Dehumidification Product of 2005 and as an R&D Magazine Top 100 product in 2006.

An ASHRAE member since 1981, Cromer has contributed to the development of many of the organization’s standards.

“This is a significant honor in the engineering profession, given that the recognition is driven by our peers and based on real contributions to the improvement of our environment, safety or the general welfare of society,” said Bob Reedy, director of FSEC’s Solar Energy Division. “Very few engineers earn this career distinction.”

For more information about the Cromer Cycle, visit http://txspace.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/6772/ESL-HH-00-05-06.pdf?sequence=4 or http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6094835/description.html.

About ASHRAE

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 51,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.

EnergyGauge Summit Premier Version 3.22 Live at GreenBuild Expo.

EnergyGauge Summit is easy-to-use, state-of-the-art software that offers construction-industry professionals substantial time savings while completing required energy modeling calculations for LEED^® projects.

The Florida Solar Energy Center^® (FSEC^®), a research institute of the University of Central Florida, just released EnergyGauge Summit Premier 3.22. FSEC will be exhibiting the software at the GreenBuild Expo in Phoenix November 10 – 12, 2009. This state-of-the-art software provides construction-industry professionals with the opportunity to substantially reduce the time required to complete energy modeling for the commercial construction LEED^® rating system. It also offers a time-saving federal tax deduction qualification feature.

The new version of Summit Premier contains several improvements and additional features that make it more functional in its use for LEED and other calculations. They include:

• Addition of the LEED (version 3) 2009 calculation feature for Energy Optimization Credit
• Updated federal tax deduction calculation as per IRS Notice 2008-40 (amplification to IRS Notice 2006-52)
• New input fields for various building envelope and system components to allow for more accurate modeling
• Additional schedules for HVAC system control
• DOE-2 based system sizing feature (beta version)

This easy-to-use updated software product is an advancement of a product that is used in Florida for commercial building code compliance by more than 1,500 users. The Premier edition includes nationwide climates and offers the automatic federal tax deduction qualification and LEED^® energy optimization features.

The United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system is the leading green building rating system in the United States. The organization recently mandated that each project achieve at least two energy optimization points in their rating. EnergyGauge

Summit Premier allows engineers to simply enter the design building characteristics and the software calculates everything else for these important point credits.

At GreenBuild 2009 Expo booth 3558, FSEC will demonstrate the ability to complete and submit the LEED 2.2 EA Credit 1 template to the LEED-Online database. This automatic baseline building-generation and template-completion feature will save the typical energy modeler many hours on each building submission. The latest version of the software can also run and create all the output data required to complete the PDF template for the LEED (version 3) 2009 energy optimization calculation.

The software automatically creates the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1 (versions 2001, 2004 and 2007) baseline building; performs the ASHRAE Appendix G rating procedure, and calculates the points achieved for LEED energy optimization. It also calculates ASHRAE Standard 90.1 compliance, based on the performance method, as called for in ASHRAE performance-based energy code compliance methodology.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has listed EnergyGauge Summit Premier as qualified software for calculating energy savings for the energy-efficient, commercial-building tax deduction under Internal Revenue Code §179D.

EnergyGauge Summit Premier performs an annual 8,760-hour simulation, taking just a few seconds on typical new computers. The Windows-based program uses a DOE-2 engine, originally developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with support from the U.S. Department of Energy.

A free, fully-functional trial version of the new EnergyGauge Summit Premier software can be downloaded at http://www.energygauge.com/downloads/summit.htm. The software retails for $949 per annual license.

About EnergyGauge^®
EnergyGauge energy analysis software is produced and distributed by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida. EnergyGauge is a registered trademark of FSEC. FSEC has been conducting research on energy efficiency in buildings since 1980. EnergyGauge software products include EnergyGauge Summit for commercial buildings, EnergyGauge USA for residential buildings nationwide and EnergyGauge FlaRes for Florida’s residential code compliance. EnergyGauge is on display at the Greenbuild 2009 conference at booth 3558. More information at www.EnergyGauge.com.

About FSEC
The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in the nation. Current 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 and distributed generation systems. For more information about the center, visit http://www.floridaenergycenter.org or call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.

About ASHRAE^®
ASHRAE creates standards used internationally for building energy and ventilation performance such as ASHRAE 90.1 for commercial building energy performance. More information is available at http://www.ashrae.org.

About LEED^®
LEED is a registered trademark of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and represents The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green
buildings. One of the key elements for earning points in the popular LEED rating system is the buildings energy performance. For new buildings, the applicant can earn one LEED credit point for each 3.5 percent improvement in performance relative to ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 using the Building Performance Rating Method in Appendix G of the Standard. More information on LEED is available at http://www.usgbc.org/.

About Greenbuild^®
Greenbuild is the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. Scheduled for November 10 – 12, 2009, more than 20,000 building professionals from around the world gather for three days of outstanding educational sessions, renowned speakers, green building tours, special seminars, networking events.

About the Energy Tax Deduction
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) is the first effort of the United States government to address U.S. energy policy since the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Among many other things, the 1,724-page law provides new tax incentives for a number of solar and energy efficiency measures including tax deductions for commercial buildings. This provision offers business taxpayers a deduction of $1.80 per square foot for commercial buildings that achieve a 50 percent reduction in annual energy cost to the user, compared to a reference building defined by the industry standard ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2001. Energy costs refer only to heating, cooling, lighting and water heating, since only these uses are within the scope of the ASHRAE standard and within the control of the building designer. More information on the IRS procedure can be found at: http://www.irs.gov/irb/2006-26_IRB/ar11.html.

Each of the three energy-using systems of the building: the envelope, the heating, cooling and water heating system, and lighting system, is eligible for one third of the incentive if it meets its share of the whole-building savings goal. Explicit interim compliance procedures are provided for lighting.

New construction in an existing building is also eligible for the tax deduction, with one-third of the deduction amount for new construction that affects the new energy-using system (such as lighting or heating, cooling and water heating).

Compliance is determined by third-party inspectors who review the plans and the actual in-place construction. Energy savings are determined by software that must be certified by the Department of Energy as meeting criteria of consistency and accuracy. EnergyGauge Summit is listed as qualified software by the U.S. Department of Energy, visit: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/qualified_software.html

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PR-09-11

This series of online courses offers practical education from building science experts with more than 30 years of research and experience. These courses are appropriate for architects, builders, contractors, designers, educators, energy auditors, energy raters, engineers, prospective homebuyers and utility representatives.

During these tough economic times, builders are looking for ways to attract home buyers and the new government administration is concentrating on creating “green jobs.”  Zero Energy Homes provide an opportunity to accomplish both and save consumers money while reducing their carbon footprint. These courses will show participants how to maximize energy-efficient design, make the best “green” choices, and optimize performance from solar and home energy management systems.

The 12-course Webinar series begins June 3, 2009.

“We’re excited to offer online courses so we can reach a larger audience,” said Rob Vieira, Buildings Research director at Florida Solar Energy Center. “A unique feature of our Webinars is that most courses will include a video case study, showing the successful implementation of green building strategies – from design to occupancy,” added Vieira.

FSEC will offer two online courses each month, beginning on June 3. Participants who attend 10 of the Webinars and pass a quiz will receive a Certificate for Zero Energy Home Building. The complete list of courses offered in 2009 include:

1. Defining a Zero Energy Green Home – June 3
2. Designing a Zero Energy Green Home – June 17
3. Highly Efficient Water Heating Choices – July 1
4. Selecting Solar Water Heating for Zero Energy Green Homes – July 15
5. Selecting Windows and Walls for a Zero Energy Green Home – August 5
6. Constructing Roofs and Attics for a Zero Energy Green Home – August 19
7. HVAC Systems for Zero Energy Green Homes – September 2
8. Selecting Appliances and Plug Loads for a Zero Energy Green Home – September 16
9. Sizing and Selecting Solar Electric Systems for a Zero Energy Green Home – October 7
10. Using Your Home Solar Electric System for Emergency Power – October 21
11. Installation Considerations for Solar Electric Systems – November 4
12. Monitoring and Operating the Zero Energy Green Home – November 18

For more details about the courses and to register, visit www.floridaenergycenter.org/go/zero

This series of courses will demonstrate:

• How to design and maintain a green building that has good indoor air quality
• How to make a building durable, comfortable and energy efficient
• How to protect buildings from mold
• What types of air-conditioning systems will cause mold problems
• What advanced dehumidification technologies are available for use in buildings.

“A recent study finds about 25 percent of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified green buildings use more energy than expected and about 12 percent use more energy than allowed by the building code. Our courses will provide the knowledge to address these issues,” said Rob Vieira, director of buildings research at FSEC.

The courses will focus on problems in commercial buildings, although the principles discussed will be applicable to all buildings. The FSEC buildings researchers will discuss such areas as ventilation requirements, humidity control, building envelope design, pressure imbalances, HVAC systems, window selection, vapor barriers and related issues.

Students who attend all five courses in the series and pass the exam in Courses one, two and three will earn an FSEC Green Commercial Building Design and Maintenance Certificate.

The courses and schedules are:

Course 1: “Designing Building Envelopes to Control Air and Moisture in High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 4

Course 2: “Designing and Maintaining Building Air Flows in High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 5

Course 3: “Designing and Maintaining HVAC Systems for High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 18

Course 4: “Design Charrette — Practice Design of a High Performance Green Building,” Feb. 19

Course 5: “Commercial Energy Code and Green Building Modeling Using EnergyGauge Summit,” Feb. 26

The cost of each course is $269. For more information about the courses or to register, visit: www.floridaenergycenter.org/go/courseschedule.