Buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy – including transportation and industry. Using applied building science, we assist the construction industry, code officials, facility managers and homeowners to improve building efficiency.

Current Projects

Code Support for the Washington State Energy Code (Residential Sections)

We provide support to those who use the residential sections of the Washington State Energy Code. For more details, see Washington State Energy Code.

Community Energy Efficiency Program

This statewide program created by the Washington State Legislature provides a community-based approach to residential and small commercial energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades. Details are provided on the Community Energy Efficiency Program webpage.

Home Energy Raters (HERS)

The WSU Energy Program has served as a RESNET provider since 2005. It has supported dozens of home energy raters in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana that submitted thousands of ratings.

For builders, independent home energy efficiency certifications add credible validation to builders' efficiency claims, which is important to perspective buyers.

For more information visit the Home Energy Raters webpage.

Partnership Programs

The WSU Energy Program partners with the Department of Energy (D.O.E) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide the following certification programs delivered by raters throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Research

Our building science professionals research energy-efficient technologies and practices. For example, we operate a facility for conducting wall system moisture and thermal-performance research.

The building science team, with funding from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, examined energy efficiency issues in military housing, manufactured housing, and Habitat for Humanity homes in Western Washington. This extensive research is documented in Building and Equipment Efficiency Publications.

Training

Our training webpage lists opportunities to learn about code compliance, duct testing, and becoming a certified professional (ENERGY STAR, Performance Comfort Tested System, Home Energy Raters).

Past Projects

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction

WSU Energy Program has worked to support USDOE Building America Program building science research for over 20 years.

Building Performance Rating Project

A market transformation pilot project created a rating system for scoring the actual performance of commercial buildings.

RePower

RePower was a county-wide program funded by the DOE Better Buildings Neighborhood Program dedicated to helping homeowners save money through energy efficiency. RePower was the product of a partnership of the WSU Energy Program and the Washington State Department of Commerce.


Building Diagnostic Tools Available for Loan

The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) Tool Lending Library has an extensive inventory of building diagnostic tools available for loan to building operators and energy service providers in Washington.

The first step in achieving operational excellence is learning how systems in the building are actually operating. The SBC can help by loaning data loggers, power meters, lighting loggers, infrared cameras, liquid and air flow measurement devices, and much more. Users can uses these tools free of charge for prescribed time periods to capture data on system performance.

For more information or to reserve a tool, visit http://www.smartbuildingscenter.org/tool-library/.