NEEA’s goal of market change and our regional energy efficiency targets depend on a continuous pipeline of commercially available new energy efficiency technologies and practices. Over the years, NEEA has helped take technologies from the laboratories and bring them into the marketplace. Many of the current success stories in energy efficiency — compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), energy-efficient clothes washers, super-efficient windows and premium efficiency motors — were the result of development work in emerging technologies in the 1980s and early 1990s that became widespread successes through market transformation in the 2000s.
Starting in 2010, NEEA will be focusing its efforts to build and fill a “pipeline” of emerging technologies for the region, alongside other regional and national efforts.
Current NEEA emerging technology initiatives at NEEA include:
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RESIDENTIAL HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS |
Heat pump water heaters are more than twice as efficient as standard electric water heaters and on average save customers hundreds of dollars in energy savings every year. Because heat pump water heaters pull heat from surrounding air, they have been more widely used in warmer climates. In April of 2008, ENERGY STAR released the first-ever specification for residential water heaters to help the market adopt this technology as standard practice. While this ENERGY STAR spec is an important step forward, the specification does not address how to adapt this technology to the needs of colder climates like those found in the northern regions of North America.
NEEA, along with the region’s utilities and energy efficiency organizations, worked to develop a new specification for heat pump water heaters that will allow the units to regain their energy performance while in cooler climates. Moving forward in 2010, NEEA and its partners will work with manufacturers to encourage them to adopt this new specification in their products and help move this technology into the Northwest residential marketplace.
Click here to download the heat pump water heater northern tier spec.
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REGIONAL COLLABORATION |
In 2009, NEEA renewed its focus on emerging technologies by launching a regional committee composed of senior managers from utilities, the Bonneville Power Administration and national laboratories. The Regional Advisory Committee will look to engage the Northwest in dialogue and provide opportunities for regional collaboration and input. With the help of the Committee, NEEA and its partners will also help identify and prioritize top emerging technology opportunities and provide an avenue for these technologies to gain visibility, funding and ultimately market adoption. NEEA will also be encouraging regional innovation by promoting its unsolicited proposal process.
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