Buildings

9:10AM - 10:30AM

Buildings consume about 40% of all energy in the United States and 75% of all electricity. Efforts to deeply decarbonize will require electrification and improved efficiency of a number of behind-the-meter building technologies including HVAC, water heating, lighting, and appliances; and well as more passive components like walls and windows. Moreover, building technologies must gain the capability to shed or shift load in response to grid signals, both to reduce peak demand and better accommodate variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Building codes remain one of the most effective levers to institute these changes, though their specific implementation can vary greatly by jurisdiction. In this panel we will reveal how these technology, market, and policy levers intersect today, and explore how this sector must evolve to allow for a low-carbon future.

Brenda Chew

Smart Electric Power Alliance

Brenda Chew is a Senior Manager leading the Smart Electric Power Alliance's Research team and has focused much of her time at SEPA investigating the proliferation of flexible resources along the grid. She is the lead author of SEPA's Utility Demand Response Market Snapshot report. Prior to joining SEPA, Brenda supported Utility of the Future and grid modernization efforts.

Kathleen Hogan

Department of Energy (former)

Kathleen Hogan is a distinguished national leader on energy efficiency with a more than twenty year career as a federal executive spanning the US EPA and DOE. Most recently, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency at the DOE, where she oversaw a more than $600 million annual energy efficiency research portfolio. At EPA Kathleen developed a suite of clean energy policies and programs including ENERGY STAR, which she led to national prominence. She has been honored with a Presidential Rank Award (2015), The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals Career Achievement Award (2016), and a Secretary of Energy Exceptional Service Award (2018).

Anica Landreneau

HOK

Anica Landreneau, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, BREEAM Assessor, is global Sustainable Design Director for HOK. She is a member of the firm’s board of directors and design board. Locally, Anica has served two terms on the DC Green and Energy Codes TAG, authoring high-performance building codes, and is in her third term on the Mayor’s Green Building Advisory Council. Nationally, Anica serves on the USGBC LEED Advisory Committee, AIA Codes and Standards Committee, AIA Blue Ribbon Panel on Codes, the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Development Committee, and the Consultative Council for the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

Mike Specian

AAAS STPF (Moderator)

Mike Specian is a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow hosted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), where his work focuses on making buildings more energy efficient, resilient, and flexible to an evolving electrical grid. Prior to joining BTO he was a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC; a scientific consultant for the U.S. Global Change Research Program; and a researcher for Baltimore City in the area of disaster preparedness.

Michael Reiner

ORISE Fellow (Reporter)

Michael is an ORISE fellow at the US Department of Energy's Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs (WIP) office where his work addresses home repair needs and expands energy efficiency opportunities. Michael earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan with a focus on the adoption of residential energy efficient technologies as well as lifecycle impacts of electrified mobility.