DISCOVER FSEC’S LATEST PROJECTS |
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FSEC’s Photovoltaic (PV)-powered, Grid Enhanced Mechanical Solution (GEMS) uses a unique approach to reduce heating, cooling, and water heating energy use in existing |
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| homes. The retrofit features high efficiency heat pumps that are partially powered by a small solar and battery system. Most of the components come pre-packaged and in a “pod” that can be installed quickly with minimal disruption. PV-GEMS is intended to be bundled with low cost building enclosure retrofits, but is an especially appealing retrofit option in cases where achieving significant energy savings through enclosure-based load reduction measures such as wall, window, and roof retrofits are considered not economical, too invasive, or otherwise problematic. |
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WANTED: Homeowners in Climate Zone 2a and 3a for PV-GEMS Demonstration Project. Eligible homes would be part of our research to compare energy use before and after installation of our PV-GEMS solution.
What is this study about? UCF’s FSEC is conducting a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to learn 1) how much heating, cooling, and water heating energy can be saved through the use of efficient heat pumps partially powered by solar, and 2) demonstrating how those systems can be delivered in a manner that minimizes disruption during installation by using a detached shed to house most of the equipment. |
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Guidebook for State and Local Government Facility Energy and ImprovementsBy Chuck Withers |
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Many local governments and state agencies in Florida have adopted policies and developed programs related to sustainability, energy efficiency, and renewable energy across all operations. Because buildings are responsible for a significant portion of annual energy costs and environmental impacts, they are a natural target for improvement. Some cities and counties have set aggressive renewable energy targets and zero emissions goals to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Others are following at a slower pace. Both approaches can benefit from adopting a standard process for making decisions, beginning with setting goals and priorities, and ending with measuring improvement and evaluating the feasibility of on-site renewable energy. The goal of this guidebook is to help a general manager successfully improve energy sustainable building operations and is particularly focused on the process of determining suitable energy conservation and efficiency measures. It also provides steps to consider the feasibility of on-site renewable energy. |
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FSEC IS CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SOLAR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION |
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On January 13, 1975, the Board of Governors of the Florida State University System voted to establish the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida (previously named Florida Technological University). Port Canaveral was our home until 1995 when we moved to our current Cocoa campus. Over the past 50 years, FSEC has become the state’s premier energy research institution, and has advanced research, development and education in solar energy. |
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FSEC Celebrates 50 Years Under the Sun |
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| On Saturday, October 4th, FSEC will host a celebration and open house. There will be consumer information sessions, exhibitors, and opportunities to speak to energy experts. We hope you'll join us on this momentous occasion. Please help us plan for the day by registering for this free event. |
| | FSEC kicked off the 50th year anniversary with an incredible gala and fundraiser on February 10th, complete with music by the Building Science Boogie Band. |
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As part of the 2025 ASHRAE Winter Conference that was held February 8th-12th in Orlando, 60 ASHRAE attendees toured FSEC on February 10th. Tour participants learned about FSEC’s mission to research and develop energy technologies that enhance Florida’s and the nation's economy and environment, and to educate the public, students, and practitioners on the results of the research. They discovered that research at FSEC is based on field monitoring, computer simulations and controlled experiments in highly instrumented laboratories. During the tour, they explored FSEC’s 20-acre research campus that is composed of buildings that provide office, laboratory and test facilities. |
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Should I buy a gas or electric mower?
Spring is here and it may be time for a new mower. General advice is to use a battery-powered electric mower for properties less than half an acre, and the grass shouldn’t be too thick. The job will be more pleasant since there’s no handling of gas, and there’s less noise. Will you save energy and money? FSEC’s Carlos Colon recently looked into this. The findings? |
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Cutting a lawn with battery-powered mowers is very inexpensive and 15 times less than a gas mower. Electric mower weight has been reduced, so the current models are more efficient than models 15 years ago. However, electric mowers will need battery replacements. Carlos estimates that over the lifetime of the mower, the total cost may be a wash between the two fuel types. However, with the electric unit, you will not be breathing fossil fuel fumes and the noise level will be lower. |
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Factors Influencing Grid-connected Heat Pump Water Heater Performance in the Southeast U.S.By Karen Fenaughty, Danny Parker, Josh Butzbaugh and Travis Ashley |
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Grid-connected heat pump water heaters (HPWH) can shift electrical load while minimizing impacts to hot water availability for occupants. This capability provides a flexible grid resource to utilities seeking to manage peak loads. Such load control also can feasibly improve renewable utilization within the utility electric production mix, for instance using off peak generation during periods with high renewable energy generation. The increased efficiency of HPWHs offers lower electric bills to customers and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. The Southeast U.S. presents a particularly promising opportunity for grid-connected HPWHs due to the region’s high penetration of electric water heating. |
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Dual Climate Case Study on HVAC Energy Efficiency and Comfort in Manufactured HousingBy Karthik Panchabikesan and Charles Withers |
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Manufactured homes (MH) offer affordable homeownership, with 10 million units built in the U.S. since 1976. MH efficiency regulations are not as stringent as current IECC, typically resulting in nearly twice the energy use per square foot for space conditioning compared to a similar site-built home. While heat pumps in MH have the potential to reduce energy costs compared to electric resistance heating, their performance in meeting thermal comfort requirements is challenged in cold temperatures. In this context, experiments were conducted to understand the ability of a relatively new class of variable speed heat pump to satisfy thermal comfort and energy requirements in cold and hot climates. To achieve this, two identical heat pumps were installed in MHs in Oregon and Florida, and their behavior in terms of energy consumption and thermal comfort was examined. In Oregon, the heat pump’s heating performance was compared to electric resistance heating, for a full season, revealing a potential reduction of 63% in heating energy while maintaining comfort. In Florida, cooling performance was assessed with two duct configurations (floor and attic ducts). The results showed that attic ducts increased the daily cooling energy by 11.5% for an average 80ºF outdoor temperature day. The key lesson learned was that the selected heat pump maintained the desired thermal comfort, including indoor temperature and humidity, at both sites. Findings from this research could be useful to promote the adoption of variable-speed heat pumps in MHs and increase residents’ confidence in using heat pumps even in cold climates. |
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Impact of Newer Climate Data for Technical Analysis of Residential Building Energy Use in the United StatesBy Danny Parker, Karthik Panchabikesan, Drury B. Crawley, and Linda K. Lawrie |
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In this study, we describe an analysis indicating the relative importance of newer hourly weather files for simulation analysis of the energy use of residential buildings in North America. Results show that older TMY3 (ending 2005) data compared with newer TMY2021 (2007–2021) data are less appropriate for the best prediction of low-energy buildings. The balance of heating and cooling is significantly altered in the more recent TMY files with potential impacts on best-performing energy efficiency measures. With 64 high profile North American locations evaluated, we found heating to be approximately 11% lower with the newer data, while cooling was increased by a similar amount percentage wise. However, the dominance of space heating in North America made decreases to heating considerably larger in an absolute sense so that overall space conditioning energy fell. |
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Game-Theoretic Optimization Strategy for Maximizing Profits to Both End-Users and Suppliers in Building Rooftop PV-Based MicrogridsBy Jianing Luo, Karthik Panchabikesan, Kee-hung Lai, Timothy O. Olawumi, Modupe Cecilia Mewomo, and Zhengxuan Liu |
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Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage offers a promising avenue for enhancing renewable energy integration in buildings. Creating microgrids with backup power from closely-spaced solar buildings is widely recognized as an effective strategy. Nevertheless, a notable gap exists between the preferences and priorities of electricity consumers residing in these solar-powered buildings and the interests of microgrid investors. The electricity consumers focus on decreasing the levelized cost of energy, while the microgrid investors focuses on achieving high net profit. This study proposes a novel game theory-based microgrid optimal design approach for designing power generations of the microgrid system and PV installation with battery storage on the building roofs, considering the different requirements and interests of electricity consumers and microgrid investors. The design optimization is framed around the Nash Equilibrium of the Stackelberg game, incorporating a bi-level optimization cycle that addresses the conflict and cooperation of electricity consumers and microgrid investors. A win-win situation can be yielded using the developed optimal design approach compared to conventional optimal design approaches. The results demonstrate a significant improvement, with the microgrid power generation yielding a large net profit (up to 0.08 USD/kWh) and concurrently reducing the levelized cost of energy by approximately 14%. |
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FSEC offers a wide range of continuing education courses covering renewable energy and building energy technology topics. Most continuing education courses include both classroom instruction, and hands-on field experience. In many cases, attendees can receive continuing education units (CEUs) and some courses are approved for Florida professional license renewals. |
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