Southface Energy Institute

Gooduse: for over 13 years, our gooduse program has partnered with over 545 nonprofits in 29 states to help them save over 25 million in utility costs while reducing their environmental impact. Using technical expertise and consultative and project management assistance, and with the leverage of matching grant support, we uncover areas for improvement within facilities to increase resource efficiency. Importantly, the program has reduced co2 emissions by over 139,000 metric tons and saved over 150 million gallons of water and more than 202 million kwh in electricity since its inception. In fact, our nonprofit partners see an average reduction of 30% in utility costs. These savings are reinvested in their mission-critical programs and services. For example, savings achieved by participating boys and girls clubs and food banks are significant enough to positively impact over 10,000 children and serve an additional 2.8 million meals to persons in need. Building on over a decade of success, Southface Institute will continue to expand our impact through the gooduse program - increasing resource efficiency through delivering consultative technical services and matching grants to nonprofits serving our communities around the nation. In 2020, we also launched a pilot to leverage a groundbreaking financing mechanism called a solar Energy purchase agreement (sepa) to help the sae school in southwest atlanta become the first net zero school in Georgia.

Current research projects: building america | hvac afdd - bp 1 & 2: the Southface research team is presently engaged in research and validation efforts regarding the impact of recently developed hvac installation verification and monitoring tools within climate zones 2 through 7. We are actively implementing these tools nationwide in real-world applications through hvac contractor networks to assess the individual and combined Energy and hvac performance effects of commissioning using the measurequick platform and continuous monitoring through the sensi predict system. Furthermore, we are actively documenting and assessing the non-energy-related impacts of these tools. Our research objective is to revolutionize the 14 billion residential hvac service industry by employing cutting-edge technology to address the approximately 70% of systems currently operating with faults. The identification and rectification of these issues are expected to result in Energy savings ranging from 10% to 30% for both new and existing systems. Although previous attempts to enhance installation quality on a large scale have yet to achieve widespread success, integrating these emerging systems offers numerous advantages to hvac contractors and the market for high-performance hvac systems. P-00113--lbnl | home hvac testing: this is a sources sought contract with lawrence berkeley national laboratory (lbnl). The primary objective of this study is to systematically gather comprehensive data concerning the installation, operational characteristics, and performance attributes of a wide spectrum of residential heating, air-conditioning, and water-heating systems currently in use within households across the united states. This research endeavor is of notable significance in the context of standards development and analytical efforts related to such equipment. The complexity of these tasks stems from the critical requirement for field- representative data, which necessitates an in-depth understanding of the real-world performance of these systems. Through this study, lbnl endeavors to bridge the existing knowledge gap by procuring data that is essential for enabling more precise and informed analyses. This, in turn, will facilitate the development and enhancement of industry standards related to residential hvac and water-heating equipment. It's worth noting that the recruitment of homes for participation in this research initiative will be executed by external entities. Ksu | doe foa 0002452 (topic area 1): Southface, in collaboration with kennesaw state university and clark atlanta university, has established and successfully operates the Georgia industrial assessment center (geo-iac), with its primary facility located at kennesaw state university. This center is dedicated to delivering complimentary Energy and productivity assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, generously funded by the u.s. department of Energy (doe). Since its inception in 2022, Southface's activities with geo-iac have achieved notable milestones. Specifically, the center has conducted a total of 20 comprehensive assessments for various manufacturing facilities, resulting in the formulation of 150 valuable recommendations for enhancing Energy efficiency and productivity. These recommendations, when implemented, have contributed to a significant Energy savings of 0.49 trillion btu (tbtu), translating into substantial cost savings amounting to 3.89 million. In addition to its pivotal role in supporting manufacturers, geo-iac has also played an integral part in educating and training the next generation of professionals, with 22 students having benefited from its training programs to date. Southface and its esteemed partners remain dedicated to advancing the cause of Energy efficiency and productivity within the manufacturing sector, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to both industry and education.

Technical services & green building certifications: Southface Institute is a trusted resource for owners, builders and architects navigating the building test out and certification process for most nationally recognized green building programs, including our own earthcraft program, as well as leed, ngbs and enterprise green communities. In addition, we provide onsite technical assistance and the physical inspections and verifications often required for green building certification. Our building audits and assessments for any building or home are an effective tool to evaluate the source of performance problems and the cost-effective solutions that best address them. We impacted more than 71,000 homes and 10,000 workplaces, helping save on utility bills and improve indoor air quality through our assessments, audits and other technical support. Through that work, we've helped reduce water and electricity use, as well as harmful climate pollution, helping build toward a regenerative future. We advance regenerative building and management practices through the following certification programs: (1) "earthcraft-southface's family of high- performance certification programs serves as a blueprint for Energy, water and resource-efficient buildings and communities throughout the southeast. Over the course of earthcraft's history, nearly 60,000 homes, multifamily units, light commercial spaces and communities have been certified across the southeast. (2) "bit building-- with only about 15% of u.s. buildings operationally eligible for sustainability certifications such as leed or Energy star, bit building gives facility operators and managers the opportunity to implement performance improvements to their buildings regardless of age or condition. Bit advisors guide the organization through the program's 16 best practices for resource savings and optimization, and the organization determines which practices to implement first. Trained bit aides work with program participants to monitor and benchmark building operations, evaluate potential improvements and assist in implementing a continuous improvement plan. Southface partnered with two leading tech firms, among others, impacting more than 11 million square feet of building space.

Various program accomplishments aiding Southface to meet its three overarching goals, which include: 1) achieving climate mitigation and resilience at the intersection of the built and natural environments; 2) increasing health and equity through improvements to the built environment; and 3) building the knowledge base and workforce to catalyze the transition to a regenerative economy.