Training the Next Generation of Grid-Efficient Building Operators

Headshot of Julia Day.

Julia Day, associate professor in WSU’s School of Design and Construction, is part of a team that has received a US Department of Energy grant for training students in managing grid-interactive, efficient buildings.

As part of the $750, 000 award, the researchers will develop a training program for vocational technology high schools and community colleges to improve entry-level building operators’ literacy in modern, grid-interactive buildings. The project is led by Michael Kane, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University, with partnership from Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC), WSU’s Integrated Design + Construction Lab, and Boston Public Schools.

The NEEC, a business association of the energy efficiency and building decarbonization industry, is the administrator for the Building Operator Certification (BOC) program, a national training and credential program that educates those who operate and maintain buildings on energy efficient and smart building practices.

The new training program is designed to educate building operators on grid-interactive efficient buildings. Such an approach balances energy demand on the grid with low-carbon, available, and affordable energy supply by reducing how much energy a building consumes and by optimizing when energy is consumed. Grid-efficient building technologies like smart building automation can dynamically adjust energy consumption, for example by adjusting thermostat setpoint temperatures. However, they can also introduce barriers to maintaining occupant comfort, satisfaction, and health. The program aims to provide a humanics approach to training the next generation of building operators using grid-efficient building technologies and concepts.

A core component of the training is a “gamified” whole-building control simulator that models building physics, grid interactions, and occupants, allowing trainees to test how their decisions affect building energy dynamics. The training will be continuously improved through a three-year, 100-student trial before rolling out nationwide as a professional credential.

By taking a humanics approach, the project invests in sustainable cities of the future with a focus on occupant health, comfort, and satisfaction. The program equips entry-level building operators with the skillset to implement sustainable energy technologies and provides valuable skills for career advancement. Additionally, the program will speed the rollout of these technologies, decreasing stress on the electric grid and lowering building carbon emissions.

By taking a humanics approach, the project invests in sustainable cities of the future with a focus on occupant health, comfort, and satisfaction. The program equips entry-level building operators with the skillset to implement sustainable energy technologies and provides valuable skills for career advancement. Additionally, the program will speed the rollout of these technologies, decreasing stress on the electric grid and lowering building carbon emissions.

The program supplements the NEEC’s BOC Fundamentals program, that provides basic principles of energy efficiency awareness and practices in commercial buildings.