P2-6. Enhancement of the Whole Building Diagnostician > Outcomes

Technical Outcomes:

The first objective was fully completed by adding the capability to use any five independent variables selected by the user instead of two. The original plan envisioned allowing substitution of any two other variables. The actual implementation allows up to five independent variables, which provides significantly more flexibility for users in customizing the WBD to their own operations. In addition, the new version also enables the user to select any dependent energy use to track, not only the five originally specified in the tool.

Due to an unexpected shortfall in match funding, most of the work on the second objective was cancelled under this project and remaining funds were allocated to finishing other projects. User interface concepts were presented to the Project Advisory Committee along with analytic approaches for peer comparisons. After a long hiatus caused by the funding shortfall, the peer comparison methodology was implemented in the current version of the WBD along with a user interface for viewing results. This prototype was then tested with a hand-crafted data set for 12 office buildings.

No field testing was performed due the match funding shortfall. The match funding loss occurred during the second year, delaying work on both objectives, such that field testing could not be supported under the project.

Market Outcomes:

The WBD software, or derivatives based on its concepts, holds significant promise to save energy and improve indoor environmental conditions in California.

The Program Advisory Committee suggested that the focus of the peer-to-peer comparison module be shifted from independent building operators who pooled data within certain climate and geographical bounds, to chain operators who have multiple buildings with similar floor plans but with large diversity in climate and location.

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