Are We All On Board for Electrification?

Part One - The Basics

Building electrification is fast becoming one of the driving forces to mitigate climate change. Yet, this strategy, which was barely on the radar even 5 years ago, is largely unknown and not understood by the public. The unique challenges of electrifying large buildings are especially daunting and lead to questions about how we will motivate building owners to make the jump.

In Part One, our experts give us the basics on electrification technologies and discuss programmatic responses that could increase consumer adoption. You’ll hear from Donna Whitsett, Managing Consultant at TRC; Ian Shapiro founder of Taitem Engineering; Donovan Gordon, Director of Clean Heating and Cooling for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; and Sean Brennan, Associate Director of Research at the Urban Green Council (full bio’s, below).

Chances are that right now you are sitting in a building that is heated by natural gas or maybe even heating oil…and you’re probably quite happy with that. And yet, in the coming years we hope convince you to scrap your existing heating system and replace it with one driven by electricity.

Advocates are hoping this happens quickly to support the Biden administration’s new target: for the US to achieve a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by 2030, along with achieving net zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.

Part 2 - The Challenge of Electrifying Large Buildings - One State’s Efforts to Transform the Market

Even with the existing power mix in America’s grid, we make significant environmental gains by electrifying our buildings. Part 2 will discuss the technical and financial barriers that large building owners face in making the choice to electrify, and what kind of behavioral nudges can be applied to move them.

GUESTS

Sean BrennanAssociate Director, Research for Urban Green CouncilPE, LEED APSean leads Urban Green’s Research team. He is responsible for identifying and executing studies that reveal industry trends and influence building design. He has worked in the energy and utility space for over 10 years and has specialized in building science and analysis. Sean has improved energy efficiency and asset maintenance programs at Pacific Gas & Electric and Sempra utilities in California. He has conducted research with the NRDC and USGBC, managed mechanical design projects with Integral Group and helped sustainability software startup Sefaira build its product and develop a portfolio of architectural and engineering clients. He has worked on hundreds of commercial, educational and specialty projects across North America to optimize envelope and HVAC design. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.

Sean Brennan

Associate Director, Research for Urban Green Council

PE, LEED AP

Sean leads Urban Green’s Research team. He is responsible for identifying and executing studies that reveal industry trends and influence building design. He has worked in the energy and utility space for over 10 years and has specialized in building science and analysis. Sean has improved energy efficiency and asset maintenance programs at Pacific Gas & Electric and Sempra utilities in California. He has conducted research with the NRDC and USGBC, managed mechanical design projects with Integral Group and helped sustainability software startup Sefaira build its product and develop a portfolio of architectural and engineering clients. He has worked on hundreds of commercial, educational and specialty projects across North America to optimize envelope and HVAC design. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.

Donovan Gordon

Director of Clean Heating and Cooling for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

Donovan leads New York State’s efforts to develop markets that support renewable, high-efficiency, and clean thermal systems, including solar thermal, solid biomass heating systems, air, ground and water source heat pumps. He is charged with conceptualizing, driving and implementing products to encourage and enable customers and partners to invest in clean heating and cooling systems to accelerate the use of these technologies and support a self-sustaining market. 

Donovan is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited Green Associate, and an International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) accredited Geothermal Installer. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from St. Francis College and a Master in Business Administration from NYU, Stern School of Business.

Connect: NYSERDA Clean Heating and Cooling Program,

More Info: NYSERDA Clean Heating and Cooling Fact Sheet

Ian ShapiroPE, LEED APSenior Engineer, Taitem EngineeringIan founded Taitem in 1989. He is the co-author of the books Green Building Illustrated (2014) and Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings (2016), both published by Wiley. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Syracuse University. He holds an undergraduate degree from McGill University, and an M.S. from Columbia University, both in mechanical engineering. Ian is a licensed engineer in the states of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. In his spare time, Ian enjoys to spend time with family and friends, write poetry, and play soccer and basketball.

Ian Shapiro

PE, LEED AP

Senior Engineer, Taitem Engineering

Ian founded Taitem in 1989. He is the co-author of the books Green Building Illustrated (2014) and Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings (2016), both published by Wiley. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Syracuse University. He holds an undergraduate degree from McGill University, and an M.S. from Columbia University, both in mechanical engineering. Ian is a licensed engineer in the states of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. In his spare time, Ian enjoys to spend time with family and friends, write poetry, and play soccer and basketball.

Donna WhitsettPh.D. Social/Personality PsychologyAs a Managing Consultant at TRC, I help utility clients formulate strategies with research that sheds light on how customers can be motivated to conserve energy and make climate-conscious choices related to energy use. My work focuses on customer and market research to better understand energy-related attitudes, decision-making, and behaviors. What I find exciting is that this work allows me to learn something new about people and what influences them in their day-to-day decisions and actions. I love finding that "needle in the haystack” of research results, providing true insight into people’s behavioral choices. I hold a Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of Washington, and I have managed research studies for energy efficiency and demand response programs with a variety of energy utility clients, including AEP Ohio, Consumers Energy, NYSERDA, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Xcel Energy. 

Donna Whitsett

Ph.D. Social/Personality Psychology

As a Managing Consultant at TRC, I help utility clients formulate strategies with research that sheds light on how customers can be motivated to conserve energy and make climate-conscious choices related to energy use. My work focuses on customer and market research to better understand energy-related attitudes, decision-making, and behaviors. What I find exciting is that this work allows me to learn something new about people and what influences them in their day-to-day decisions and actions. I love finding that "needle in the haystack” of research results, providing true insight into people’s behavioral choices. I hold a Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of Washington, and I have managed research studies for energy efficiency and demand response programs with a variety of energy utility clients, including AEP Ohio, Consumers Energy, NYSERDA, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Xcel Energy. 

More Resources:

The Climate Mobilization Act, 2019

NYC LL97 Carbon Emissions Calculator From the Building Energy Exchange

Musical Interlude for this episode: You Didn’t Say a Word - Listen on Soundcloud

Daniela Reinsch– Vocals

Todd Rogers – Violin, MIDI Instruments
Timothy Varney – Piano
Julie Harris - Native Style Flute

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"Are We All On Board for Electrification?"

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