WCEC Releases 2025 Research Highlights
The Western Cooling Efficiency Center has released its 2025 Research Highlights, showcasing how the center is advancing energy-efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation technologies through applied research, field demonstrations, and broad collaboration.
This year’s Highlights reflect WCEC’s continued momentum in the face of a rapidly evolving energy landscape. From new patents in advanced heat exchangers and optimized controls, to field demonstrations that validate energy savings across California’s diverse climate zones, to innovative strategies that accelerate the adoption of efficient technologies, the 2025 Highlights capture WCEC’s work to deliver solutions that make a measurable impact.
The publication showcases progress across a wide range of focus areas, including:
- Load-flexible operation of residential heat pumps
Indoor air quality and ventilation controls - Data center cooling and thermal management strategies
- Advanced heat exchangers and novel thermal materials
- Building envelope retrofits and sealing methods
- Approaches to support adoption of efficient residential and commercial HVAC systems
…and more.
Together, these highlights illustrate how WCEC continues to respond to evolving energy challenges with practical solutions, creative approaches, and a commitment to building a more sustainable and resilient energy future. Each section includes links to detailed reports and publications for readers interested in a deeper dive into the research.
Explore the full 2025 Research Highlights to see how WCEC and its partners are helping build a more sustainable, comfortable, and resilient future.
CLTC Expands Smart Home Research with VCE Partnership
CLTC Director Jae Yong Suk recently atteded Valley Clean Energy’s board meeting to share plans for expanding the Center’s smart home research in partnership with Panasonic. During the meeting, he met with VCE leadership, including CEO Mitch Sears and Board Chair Bapu Vaitla.
Valley Clean Energy (VCE) is the local not-for-profit electricity provider for Davis, Woodland, Winters, and unincorporated Yolo County. VCE delivers cleaner electricity at competitive rates and reinvests revenues into community programs that support sustainability, reliability, and local resilience.
At the meeting, CLTC outlined a new real-time pricing field testbed launched with VCE for Yolo County. The testbed will evaluate how smart appliances and advanced control algorithms respond to dynamic electricity prices in real homes, with the goal of identifying strategies that help customers save energy and money while supporting grid stability.
MTRP Director Presents at ACEEE Energy Efficiency as a Resource Conference
WCEC Market Transformation Research Program Director Sarah Outcault recently presented at the ACEEE Energy Efficiency as a Resource 2025 Conference in Denver. Her talk, “Flex Appeal: Communication Strategies in Automated Load Flexibility Programs,” examined how communication approaches can support participation in load flexibility initiatives
Outcault’s team collected outreach materials from existing programs—including flyers, websites, and program information—to analyze how load flexibility is being presented. The research examined differences in messaging, definitions, and visuals, and considered how well communications were tailored for different audiences and modes. The outreach materials were then evaluated for effectiveness using established communication metrics. The findings identified both strong practices and areas for improvement that could help increase consumer participation.
UC Davis Welcomes Mendocino Tribal Delegation
EEI recently welcomed representatives from the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District (MCRCD), the Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation (PSLF), and four participating tribes—the Potter Valley Tribe, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Guidiville Rancheria of California, and the Pinoleville Pomo Nation—for a two-day tour of campus research facilities.
The visit was part of the group’s California Strategic Growth Council–funded project, Transformative Activities for Tribal Communities in the Upper Russian River Watershed and Surrounding Areas. The project focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation activities to strengthen community resilience through clean energy, energy efficiency, and agricultural initiatives.
During their time on campus, participants toured the EEI, WCEC, CLTC, and the EEI Smart Home, each offering hands-on demonstrations of applied research in renewable energy and efficiency. The visit also highlighted UC Davis’s large-scale clean energy assets, including the 16.3-megawatt solar farm and the campus biodigester, which converts organic waste into renewable energy.
The tour served as an opportunity for education, knowledge sharing, and the exploration of future partnerships between UC Davis and the visiting tribal communities.
Register Today for GEM 2025
Join us online Thursday, November 13th, 2025 for the seventh annual Global Energy Managers Workshop, bringing together facility managers, students, and faculty from around the world. This gathering serves as a platform for sharing best practices in campus energy management, carbon reduction strategies, and fostering community engagement to drive sustainable progress.
Save the Date: UC Davis Industry & Materials Decarbonization Symposium
Save the date for the UC Davis Industry & Materials Decarbonization Symposium on April 16-17, 2026. This two-day event will bring together industry, academia, and government to share strategies, explore new technologies, and accelerate progress toward decarbonizing the industrial and materials sectors.
Missed a Seminar? Watch It Now
If you couldn’t join us for our recent Energy Seminar Series, Materials Decarbonization, or Demand Flex events, you can now watch them online! Catch up on this and other recent seminars anytime!
