This research grows out of the success of efforts to improve the energy efficiency standards in California. These efforts go back to the initial energy standards adopted in 1978, but they have been highlighted most recently in the AB 970 round of energy standards improvement. In the fall of 2000, the legislature mandated that the Commission upgrade the Title 24 and Title 20 of the California Code of Regulations efficiency standards. The Commission, with substantial support from the utilities and from building energy efficiency researchers, was able to identify, validate and adopt a variety of energy efficiency improvements, which had been developed through previously funded R&D efforts. These efforts had been conducted over the previous five years.

With this project, a linking of R&D efforts to the needs of the energy efficiency standards will be engaged. The project will be able to identify possible linkages earlier in the R&D process, and may help to optimize the R&D efforts so they will be most effective in gaining standards improvements.