DESCRIPTION:

San Francisco Architect Frank Bergamaschi thought he built a pretty efficient home for his family in 2000, but when he decided to investigate installing a PV system he was alarmed at the size of the system required to offset his home’s electrical usage. He began sleuthing how best to reduce electricity usage, and discovered that he could achieve significant savings through monitoring and managing his home’s energy system. He was so successful with his efforts that he was able to meet the Thousand Home Challenge while cutting the PV system size in half, the second home in California to achieve this aggressive goal. Not satisfied to stop there, Frank recently enlisted the help of Rick Chitwood to do a full diagnostic energy assessment. Join this webinar to hear the details of how Frank successfully met the Thousand Home Challenge through baseload sleuthing, PV, and occupant behavior.

By participating in this webinar, attendees will:

  1. Find out how a focus on baseload energy management helped this project meet the Thousand Home Challenge
  2. Learn about the energy performance results of this project
  3. Hear about future opportunities to improve energy performance discovered through a recent energy assessment

Biographies

Frank Bergamaschi

Frank Bergamaschi, Presenter

Frank Bergamaschi is a registered California architect and LEED Accredited Professional. He has practiced in San Francisco since 1988. He specializes in residential design, with an emphasis in energy conservation and sustainability.

Rick Chitwood

Rick Chitwood, Presenter

Rick Chitwood has been a long time building performance contractor, even before it was called that, and even owned a blower door in the 1980s. He spends most of his time teaching for the California Building Performance Contractors Association, doing research, and helping with the updates to the California Energy Code.

Don Fugler

Don Fugler, Respondent

Don Fugler was trained as a mechanical engineer and spent 25 years doing housing research for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). He managed research projects on topics such as combustion spillage, home energy use, wet basements, ventilation, indoor air quality, contaminated lands, and straw bale housing. One of his last projects was the performance monitoring of the CMHC EQuilibrium homes, houses designed to be net zero and healthy. He retired from CMHC in 2011, and currently undertakes contract research into ventilation, IAQ, energy retrofitting, and other issues.

Gary Klein headshot

Gary Klein, Respondent

Gary Klein has been intimately involved in energy efficiency and renewable energy since 1973. His firm, Affiliated International Management LLC, provides consulting on sustainability through their international team of affiliates. At present, the focus is on water-energy-carbon footprint issues with a particular emphasis on hot water.