Two of Syracuse's signature strengths-robust, four-season weather and expertise in
green building technologies-have attracted an international team to conduct a project
that will help improve energy efficiency in buildings through weatherization
technologies.
Project partners include the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA), Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL), the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), the New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Syracuse University,
and the Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE). The partners have committed
more than $2 million to undertake the three-year project.
The project will be conducted at the new Building Envelope Systems Test (BEST)
Laboratory, a unique SyracuseCoE research and development facility located on
Syracuse University's South Campus. The project will focus on the performance of air
barriers-systems that control unintended air movement between outdoors and
indoors, which can have major impacts on a building's energy use and indoor air quality.
In heating climates, up to 40 percent of the energy use in a building can be attributed to
air leakage.
"Congress has made weatherization and energy efficiency a national priority, and I am
excited to see locally we have great institutions working on such important projects,"
says U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei (NY-25). "Central New York is already known for being a
leader in green technology research and development, and projects such as the BEST
Lab will only strengthen that reputation."
The BEST Laboratory resembles a small, two-story house. In place of windows, the
laboratory has 34 openings for test panels, each of which is four feet wide and nine feet
high. ABAA will install panels that represent various materials and air barriers, which
will then be subjected to identical outdoor and indoor conditions. Inside, ORNL will
install instruments to measure temperature, moisture and air movement. ORNL will
analyze the results.
The location of the BEST Laboratory in Syracuse recognizes the expertise and resources
available through SyracuseCoE, such as Jainshun Zhang, professor of mechanical and
aerospace engineering at SU, who is director of the world-renowned Building Energy
and Environmental Systems (BEES) Laboratory in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering
and Computer Science. Zhang, along with other SU faculty and students, will help
manage the BEST Laboratory.
Another asset for the project is Central New York's four-season weather, which will
enable the air barrier and building envelope systems to be evaluated over a wide range
of climate conditions.
"The new BEST Laboratory is an important addition to SyracuseCoE research and
development facilities," says Syracuse CoE Executive Director Ed Bogucz. "We also are
very excited about the collaborative project with AABA, ORNL, DOE and NYSERDA,
which expands and extends our network of partner firms and institutions that are
creating next-generation solutions for high-performance and healthy buildings."
"Conducting real-world research with our partners is essential to develop new
technologies for tomorrow's zero energy buildings and to help assure building code
organizations have the best information available for their decisions," says Marc
LaFrance, technology development manager in the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Buildings Technology Program, at the U.S. Department of Energy.
"This project represents a new approach to doing research, with an industry and
government laboratory and a university collaborating together," says Laverne Dalgleish,
executive director of the Air Barrier Association of America. "This is research that is
international in scope and that will be used around the world."
"The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pleased to participate in this joint research
project with the Air Barrier Association of America, the New York State Energy Office,
SyracuseCoE and Syracuse University to address the issue of air tightness in building
envelope components," says Andre Desjarlais, program manager of the Building
Envelopes Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "Air leakage in buildings can
account for more than 25 percent of the heating and cooling bill of a typical building, and
this collaboration allows all of the parties participating in this project to pool their
resources to address this critical research need that can lead to greater energy
independence."
"NYSERDA applauds SyracuseCoE's work and is pleased to provide funding toward this
leading-edge initiative. Through its operational studies, significant data will be
contributed to help New Yorkers best update our housing stock to the most energy-
efficient standards," says Francis J. Murray Jr., president and CEO of the New York State
Energy Research and Development Authority.
Syracuse Center of Excellence (syracusecoe.org) is a collaborative organization of more than
200 businesses and institutions that creates innovations for sustainable built and urban
environments. SyracuseCoE members work on research, development and educational projects
relating to clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality and water resources.
