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An Overview of the Building Energy Retrofit Research Program
Abstract
This research update presents the status of a
U.S. Department of Energy program that addresses
the technical, financial, and behavioral barriers
to improving the energy efficiency of existing
buildings. The program is implemented with
expertise from four national laboratories,
Princeton University, and the Alliance to Save
Energy in cooperation with a large number of state,
utility, and local agencies.
The remaining potential for energy savings
from cost effective retrofit measures in existing
buildings is impressive, but a variety of barriers
have been identified that reduce conservation
investment. One significant barrier that the
program can address is the large uncertainty about
savings. Average savings for a large sample of
retrofit hones is generally lower than expected,
and savings in individual buildings varies
unpredictably from negative to very high positive
values. Our approach has been to provide reliable
information on the performance and cost effectiveness
of energy conserving technologies and
practices. Field performance monitoring is in
progress in each building sector and development of
diagnostic techniques and monitoring protocols is
in progress.
Citation
Mixon, W. R. (1988). An Overview of the Building Energy Retrofit Research Program. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6522.