May Lunch Meeting

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Time: 12:00-1:30pm

Location: Brother John's

Paul Torcellini 

Paul Torcellini has 30 years of experience examining how energy is used in buildings including delivery mechanisms, design, system integration, and operations. His focus is on creating buildings that have minimal environmental impact because of their operations including very low energy buildings and zero energy buildings.

Paul received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering specializing in heat transfer and modeling of buildings and a Ph.D. in building controls from Purdue University (W. Lafayette, Indiana).

Paul is a 25-year ASHRAE member and has received two ASHRAE Technology Awards for his energy-efficient buildings work and has been a key contributor to the Advanced Energy Design Guide Series, published by ASHRAE as a collaborative effort of AIA, ASHRAE, IES, and USGBC. He has led the technical analysis of several of the guides and has chaired two of the guides including the Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools: Achieving Zero Energy (January 2018) and the recently released Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings: Achieving Zero Energy (June 2019). He has been a speaker on two ASHRAE Webcasts including one focused on Zero Energy Buildings. He is active in TC2.8 (Building Environmental Impacts and Sustainability) and has been involved in several Society level efforts including MTGs, position documents, and Project Monitoring Subcommittees.

Paul and his family live in a zero energy home in northeastern Connecticut and run a sustainable farm focused on soil restoration growing a variety of farm products. (See High Performing Buildings, Spring 2018 for more information on the house.)

The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Zero Energy Buildings

Modeled after the successful 30% and 50% Advanced Energy Design Guides, this new series of guides focuses on the processes and strategies to achieve zero energy buildings at typical construction budgets. The series, published by ASHRAE, was a collaborative effort of AIA, ASHRAE, IES, USGBC, and DOE. The first book in the series was published in January 2018 and focuses on K-12 schools and includes several case studies of schools that meet the zero energy requirements. In process, is the 50% office guide. The lecture will focus on setting energy goals and the technologies that can help achieve these goals and will walk through the Guide. A sneak preview of what is coming in offices will also be presented.