Southface Energy Institute

Gooduse: the gooduse program was introduced as grants to green in 2008. Through the program, Southface provides financial and technical assistance to food banks, boys & girls clubs, and many other kinds of nonprofits to make cost-saving efficiency and health upgrades to their facilities. The ongoing savings on utility bills allow gooduse recipients to invest more funds in their core services to the community. More than 575 gooduse projects across 31 states have led to nonprofits cumulatively saving 4 million in annual utility costs, with 47 new projects initiated in 2023 alone. One highlight of the year was working with the salvation army central command center in downtown, atlanta that provides emergency, transitional and recovery programs that empower people of all ages to begin their transition to stable independence; by discovering and overcoming the root causes of their homelessness. The program includes technical resources throughout the project including bidding, implementation, and commissioning as well as on the job personalized training for the building operators, thereby insuring the newly installed building systems will be optimized and maintained properly. This program saves nonprofits an average of 28% utility costs and carbon footprint reduction. These savings are directed towards mission critical services for the communities they serve.

Research: building america | hvac afdd - bp 1 & 2: the Southface research team is currently working to close out the project on the impact of recently developed hvac installation verification and monitoring tools within climate zones 2 through 7. We are now in the peer-review phase, with all other required documentation completed. Our nationwide implementation of these tools through hvac contractor networks has allowed us to assess the individual and combined Energy and hvac performance effects of commissioning using the measurequick platform. Additionally, we have documented and assessed the non-energy-related impacts of these tools. Our objective has been 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 research finding showed statistically significant average system performance improvement for all three metrics analyzed for tune-up/retro-commissioning workflow (i.e. 3.3% increase in total normalized capacity, 5.4% increase in normalized sensible capacity, and 6.2% increase in Energy efficiency ratio). 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. Ga tech | doe Energy shed (y1) 23-24: for decades, the u.s. Energy generation, transmission, and distribution model has relied on large-scale power plants burning fossil fuels. However, with the rapid growth of distributed renewable technologies like wind, solar, hydropower, and storage assets, Southface Energy Institute (Southface) is working with a team at the Georgia Institute of technology to reimagine the planning paradigm for electric power infrastructure to better suit community needs. This new model, called the Georgia energyshed (g-shed), will analyze various electricity generation, distribution, and usage scenarios to inform local policy decisions and implement new ideas for the 11-county metro atlanta area. Funded by the u.s. department of Energy, this initiative is part of a broader strategy to understand local Energy demands and create tailored solutions. The project is led by Georgia tech's strategic Energy Institute and its Energy, policy, and innovation center (epicenter), with contributions from the school of public policy, the school of city and regional planning, and the college of engineering. Key partners include the atlanta regional commission (arc) and the Southface Energy Institute. Southface plays a crucial role in the community engagement aspect of the project. Our tasks include: 1) gathering demographic data specific to the Energy shed area; 2) planning and executing charrettes (collaborative planning sessions); and 3) working with informed community members to provide feedback on regional Energy shed planning models. This community- centric approach aims to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in regional Energy planning and decision-making processes. The project will address the Energy needs of underserved communities, helping to balance growth and shared prosperity in the atlanta metropolitan area. The ultimate goal is to support community-informed Energy planning and reinforce efforts to address Energy affordability and equitable access to renewable Energy benefits, leading to healthier and economically empowered communities. Ksu | doe foa 0002452 (topic area 1): in collaboration with kennesaw state university and clark atlanta university, Southface has established and now operates the Georgia industrial assessment center (geo-iac), housed at kennesaw state university. This center, funded by the u.s. department of Energy (doe), provides free Energy and productivity assessments to small and medium-sized manufacturers. Since its launch in 2022, the geo-iac has achieved significant milestones under Southface's activities. The center has completed 28 comprehensive assessments for manufacturing facilities, offering 199 recommendations aimed at improving Energy efficiency and productivity. Implementing these recommendations has led to substantial Energy savings of 0.59 trillion btu (tbtu) and cost savings of 4.88 million. Beyond supporting manufacturers, geo-iac has also been instrumental in educating and training future professionals, with 26 students participating in its training programs. Southface and its partners are committed to advancing Energy efficiency and productivity in the manufacturing sector, showcasing a strong dedication to both industry and education.

Technical services: Southface has a range of fee-for-service offerings for residential and commercial buildings that help advance their mission. Design consulting services equip building owners and developers to achieve sustainability and building performance goals based on the structure, systems, and budget for a new build or major renovation project. Certification services help owners and operators identify and achieve the best green certification for their building, whether developed by Southface (e.g., earthcraft, bit building) or a third party (e.g., leed, living building challenge, ngbs, Energy star). Building assessments provide a baseline for and track the progress of clients' building improvements. They include air tightness testing, indoor air quality assessments, the american society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers (ashrae) Energy audits, and carbon assessments. Career training enables building and construction workers to enter or advance within the green workforce. Instructor-led virtual and in-person courses as well as on-demand classes teach important trade skills, provide continuing education units (ceus), and equip attendees to earn professional credentials as home Energy raters, duct and envelope tightness verifiers, and more. In 2023, Southface courses impacted 1,367 people. Earthcraft is a builder-focused training and sustainable certification program that was co-developed with the greater atlanta home builders association to address the unique environmental conditions of the southeast. Earthcraft ensures a high level of efficiency, air quality, and durability for residential and commercial buildings, including affordable housing and buildings with historic designations. In 2023, 3,377 multifamily affordable housing units, 111 single-family homes, and one light commercial building gained earthcraft certification. Bit building is Southface's sustainable operations and maintenance program. It helps reduce Energy, water, and waste consumption of any type of existing building or tenant-controlled space (except single-family residential) regardless of age or current performance. With accessible pricing and no performance thresholds to get started, bit provides a pathway to sustainability for buildings that did not have one before.

Advocacy: Southface's grasstops and grassroots advocacy efforts work to advance Energy justice, green affordable housing, and local climate action in Florida, Georgia, and beyond. Supplemented by community engagement sessions, Southface and the southern alliance for clean Energy (sace) jointly intervened in Georgia power's 2022 integrated resource plan (irp), providing expert testimony on affordable clean Energy and efficiency programs. They later intervened in the utility's 2022 rate case and celebrated several sustainability wins. In 2022, Southface's first Florida advocacy lead began outreach on the state's utility regulatory process. Federally, Southface also began working to leverage the 2022 inflation reduction act, a historic investment in climate solutions. Sustainable communities: Southface delivers customized sustainable development plans to municipalities, engaging civic leaders and community members to collaboratively set and reach clean Energy and equity goals. Southface facilitated community workshops, lead the effort, and is completing the dekalb county clean Energy plan. Both the city of decatur clean Energy plan as well as the athens-clarke county clean and renewable Energy plan were approved and adopted by their respective commissions in 2022. Southface also supported clean transportation by continuing to host clean cities Georgia, engage in Georgia drawdown in clean transportation, and work on several federal initiatives that focus on clean transportation.