| Title | Authors | Type | Journal | Publish Date | Description | Download | Center |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat Pumps Program Study Database | Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Emily Searl | Database | 2025 | View database (Excel Format) | mtrp | ||
| What's the ETA for heat pump adoption? Assessing barriers and opportunities with the Energy Technology Adoptability framework | Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Emily Searl | Conference Paper | 2024 | Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are a keystone technology to electrify and decarbonise buildings. Despite an abundance of programs to promote their adoption, uptake lags behind targeted rates in many regions. Research has highlighted a range of factors that hinder heat pump adoption, but it tends to focus on known barriers such as high initial costs and lack of awareness among potential customers. This paper takes a systematic approach to exploring barriers to heat pump adoption, using the Energy Technology Adoptability (ETA) framework. | Read Paper | mtrp | |
| Leveraging community resources to protect the most vulnerable: A case study on heat mitigation in India’s informal settlements | Outcault, S.M., Searl, E.A., & Gilani, V.M. | Conference Paper | 2024 | There is a great need for technical solutions that deliver comfort in extreme heat. Fair Conditioning works with vulnerable communities in India to co-create solutions to reduce solar heat gain in local buildings. They have developed innovative techniques to cool informal dwellings by deploying a spectrum of passive design techniques. | Read Paper | mtrp | |
| Harnessing non-energy impacts to promote residential heat pump adoption: Examples from the U.S. and beyond | Sarah Outcault, Emily Searl, Cinthia Magaña, and Eli Alston-Stepnitz | Conference Paper | 2024 | As countries strive to decarbonize residential buildings, air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) have emerged as crucial tools in this endeavor. However, challenges persist in promoting widespread adoption, including political resistance, economic barriers, and consumer perceptions. This paper explores the role of non-energy impacts (NEIs) in influencing heat pump adoption and examines how heat pump programs leverage NEIs to encourage uptake. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Load Flexibility: Keeping Users in the Loop with “Invisible” Technologies | Angela Sanguinetti, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Sarah Outcault, and Margaret Taylor | Conference Paper | 2024 | This paper focuses on user experience with emerging load flexible (LF) technologies, as demonstrated in residential and commercial building field sites in California. It draws from semi structured interviews with people who interacted with LF technologies or who had energy services affected by these technologies during testing of their responsiveness to electricity price and greenhouse gas signals simulating those expected as California’s grid evolves. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Stakeholder perspectives on the role of standards in establishing a load flexible ecosystem | Sarah Outcault, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Margaret Taylor | Conference Paper | 2024 | Technology standards emerge as a key driver with regard to market stimulation, innovation, and widespread adoption of interoperable load-flexible technologies that enable grid interactive energy-efficient buildings. This paper explores the “chicken and egg” issues related to the widespread adoption of load-flexible devices in the face of uncertain technology standards. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| What's the ETA for heat pump adoption? Assessing barriers and opportunities with the Energy Technology Adoptability framework | Conference Paper | 2024 | Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are a keystone technology to electrify and decarbonise buildings. Despite an abundance of programs to promote their adoption, uptake lags behind targeted rates in many regions. Research has highlighted a range of factors that hinder heat pump adoption, but it tends to focus on known barriers such as high initial costs and lack of awareness among potential customers. This paper takes a systematic approach to exploring barriers to heat pump adoption, using the Energy Technology Adoptability (ETA) framework. | Read Paper | mtrp | ||
| SLIDE DECK: What's the ETA for heat pump adoption? Assessing barriers and opportunities with the Energy Technology Adoptability framework | Sarah Outcault | Conference Slides | 2024 | Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are a keystone technology to electrify and decarbonise buildings. Despite an abundance of programs to promote their adoption, uptake lags behind targeted rates in many regions. Research has highlighted a range of factors that hinder heat pump adoption, but it tends to focus on known barriers such as high initial costs and lack of awareness among potential customers. This paper takes a systematic approach to exploring barriers to heat pump adoption, using the Energy Technology Adoptability (ETA) framework. | View Slides | mtrp | |
| Database of residential heat pump promotion efforts | Sarah Outcault | Database | 2024 | Searchable database of utility, government, and community-led programs and activities to promote residential heat pump adoption by addressing the technology's trialability, observability, complexity of installation, and non-energy benefits. | View Database (Excel file) | mtrp | |
| Innovative Approaches to Residential Heat Pump Promotion | Sarah Outcault, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Ellian Eorwyn, Cinthia Magana & Emily Searl | Project Report | 2024 | California has identified heat pumps as a keystone technology on its path to decarbonization. To achieve the state’s goal of reaching six million heat pump installations by 2030, however, adoption rates must accelerate substantially. While various rebate programs have been introduced to alleviate the initial cost burden associated with heat pump installation, it is imperative to acknowledge and address critical non-cost barriers that may impede widespread adoption. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| CalFlexHub Stakeholder Needs Assessment - Year 2 | Sarah Outcault, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Ellian Carone, Sagal Alisalad, and Cinthia Magaña, Margaret Taylor | Project Report | 2023 | The goal of the California Load Flexibility Research and Development Hub (CalFlexHub) is to demonstrate cost-effective and reliable load-flexible and flexibility-enabling technologies that could support a California future in which significant grid incorporation of renewable energy is balanced by electricity demand that is flexible throughout the year's 8,760 hours. One of CalFlexHub's tasks is to use social science methods to gain a better understanding of the broader context of these technologies. This report is the second of three annual CalFlexHub “stakeholder needs assessments” under this task; each will discuss what stakeholders identify priorities, constraints, and needs as they relate to implementing California’s vision for automated load flexibility and dynamic electricity prices. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Technology Characteristics that Influence Adoption of Residential Distributed Energy Resources: Adapting Rogers’ Framework | Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Leslie Nelson | Peer-reviewed Article | Energy Policy | 2022 | Distributed energy resources (DERs) present an important opportunity to lower the carbon intensity of residential buildings but face numerous barriers to adoption. This paper extends and adapts Rogers' theory of the role of technology characteristics in the diffusion of innovation (Rogers, 1962) to address the unique features of residential DERs. | Read Report | mtrp |
| Building lower-carbon affordable housing: case studies from California | Sarah Outcault, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Angela Sanguinetti, Ashley N. DePew & Cinthia Magaña | Peer-reviewed Article | Building Research and Information | 2022 | This research explores developers’ experiences with lower-carbon multi-family affordable housing in California using three case studies that illustrate different pathways to decarbonization – improving efficiency, eliminating fossil fuel combustion for end-uses, and adopting a zero-net energy design. | Read Report (paywall) | mtrp |
| Occupant Non-Energy Impact Identification Framework: A human-centered approach to understanding residential energy retrofits | Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Nermin Dessouky, Cinthia Magaña | Peer-reviewed Article | Energy and Buildings | 2022 | Residential energy retrofits have the potential to generate significant non-energy impacts (NEIs) on occupants, but the understanding of those NEIs has been hampered by the lack of a shared approach to studying them. A detailed literature review revealed several common tendencies that limit the generalizability of findings, including a focus on benefits, different categorization schemes, varied scope and specificity, the conflation of impacts across occupant groups, and conflation of retrofits’ functional outcomes with occupant impacts. This paper suggests a more systematic way of conceptualizing NEIs is needed and proposes a new framework that supports a comprehensive, unbiased, human-centered, and standardized approach. | Read Report (paywall) | mtrp |
| Understanding teachers' experiences of ventilation in California K- 12 classrooms and implications for supporting safe operation of schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic | Angela Sanguinetti, Sarah Outcault, Theresa Pistochini, Madison Hoffacker | Peer-reviewed Article | Wiley | 2022 | Classrooms are often under-ventilated, posing risks for airborne disease transmission as schools have reopened amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While technical solutions to ensure adequate air exchange are crucial, this research focuses on teachers’ per-ceptions and practices that may also have important implications for achieving a safe classroom environment. | Read Report | mtrp |
| Decarbonizing Affordable Housing: Case Studies on Developer Experiences with New Construction | Sarah Outcault, Ph.D., Eli Alston-Stepnitz, M.A., Angela Sanguinetti, Ph.D., Ashley DePew, and Cinthia Magana | Project Report | 2021 | This report explores stakeholders’ experience developing lower-carbon affordable multi-family housing. Three case communities in California were studied to yield insights about the decisions, challenges, and successes that emerged in the design, financing, operation, and maintenance of the buildings. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Residential Electrification in Sacramento and Its Impact on Residential Appliance Sales | Sarah Outcault, Ashley DePew, Yemi Akoda, and Alan Meier | Project Report | 2021 | The objective of this report is to investigate and quantify the market for appliances related to residential electrification and decarbonization, using the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as a case study. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Design Specifications for Indoor Environmental Quality Feedback | Outcault, Sarah; Sanguinetti, Angela; Alston-Stepnitz, Eli | Presentation | Norwegian University of Science and Technology | 2021 | This presentation outlines best practices on IEQ information granularity, building upon the eco-feedback design-behavior framework. | Presentation Slides | mtrp |
| Residential solar water heating: California adopters and their experiences | Angela Sanguinetti, Sarah Outcault, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Mithra Moezzi, Aaron Ingle | Peer-reviewed Article | Renewable Energy | 2021 | This research surveyed 227 single-family households with solar water heating across the state of California to understand their motivations and experiences, and draw implications regarding barriers to adoption. The survey explored households’ experiences across five stages of adoption, as outlined in Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory: Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation, and Confirmation. | Download (Paywall) | mtrp |
| Towards Building Decarbonization: Lessons From Affordable Housing Pioneers | Outcault, Sarah; Sanguinetti, Angela; Alston-Stepnitz, Eli | Presentation | Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference | 2020 | This presentation highlights preliminary findings about stakeholder experience developing, operating and maintaining various types of decarbonized affordable housing. | Presentation Slides | mtrp |
| Towards a Better Understanding of Non-Energy Impacts Associated with Residential Energy Retrofit Projects | Dessouky, N., Outcault, S. & A. Sanguinetti. | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2020 | This paper explores the limitations of methods used by studies on non-energy impacts of energy retrofit projects, and outlines an approach that facilitates more robust comparisons. | Read Paper | mtrp |
| Connected thermostats for low income households: Insights from user testing | Alston-Stepnitz, E., Sanguinetti, A., Peffer, T., & Outcault, S. | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2020 | This paper describes key findings from user testing of a connected thermostat designed for low-income households. | Read Paper | mtrp |
| Improving Ventilation and Indoor Environmental Quality in California Schools | Theresa Pistochini, Caton Mande, Mark Modera, Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti | Project Report | 2020 | This project developed and demonstrated approaches to synergistically improve ventilation and indoor environmental quality during replacements of packaged heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in California schools. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| The Landscape of Residential Solar Water Heating in California | Mithra Moezzi, Aaron Ingle, Loren Lutzenhiser | Project Report | 2020 | Despite the long history of solar thermal water heating, the literature on its use is scattered, siloed, and uneven in coverage. This report outlines the “landscape” of solar water heating for single-family residences in California, covering technologies, the supply chain and marketplace, households as purchasers and users, and data sources. | Download | mtrp | |
| Electrical Energy Storage and Energy Management System for the Sustainable City in Dubai | Park, J.W., Rahman, M., Lacap, J., Wikler, K., Outcault, S., Sanguinetti, A., Nassar, H. & A. Safwat | Project Report | 2019 | This paper examines the technical requirements for an electrical energy storage system for The Sustainable City of Dubai. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Developer-Driven Sustainable Communities: Lessons from a Case Study of The Sustainable City in Dubai | Sanguinetti, Angela; Alan Meier; Nermin Dessouky; and Sarah Outcault | Peer-reviewed Article | European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy | 2019 | In Dubai, a private developer conceived, built, and now manages, a gated community called The Sustainable City (TSC), with more than 2,000 residents, shops, a school, and a hotel. TSC was purpose-built to consume almost no energy and be especially frugal with water, harnessing cutting-edge technologies and green building practices to promise residents both efficiency and luxury. | Read Article | mtrp |
| How South Carolina's Electric Cooperatives Build Capacity Through Multi-Level Governance | Keith Taylor, Sarah Outcault | Project Report | 2019 | Electric cooperatives serve over 40 million consumers in the United States, and have a history stretching back eight decades. Historically, the provision of high-quality electricity services at the lowest possible wholesale price to its distribution cooperative members might have proven sufficient to declare generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives a success. But electric cooperatives‚ business and governance models are facing new pressures as distributed energy technologies evolve and emerge; consumer-member preferences shift; and the economics of electric utilities changes regarding the cost structures of nuclear, coal, natural gas, and utility-scale renewables. | Download | mtrp | |
| Solar Water Heating Assessment Project: Understanding and Improving Effectiveness for California Households | Mithra Moezzi, Aaron Ingle, Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Loren Lutzenhiser, Hal Wilhite, James D. Lutz, Alan Meier, and Jennifer Kutzleb | Project Report | 2019 | Solar thermal water heaters are an old technology used a century ago in California. They are now used extensively, in updated form, in many countries. According to government and industry estimates, well-functioning solar water heaters can theoretically displace 50 to 80 percent of the output of a natural gas-fueled household water heater, depending how hot water usage aligns with production and storage capacities. | Download | mtrp | |
| Market Intelligence? Eliciting valuable information from non-expert stakeholders | Outcault, S. | Presentation | Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference | 2019 | Lessons from a series of stakeholder surveys and interviews on priorities for distributed energy resources are presented. | Presentation Slides | mtrp |
| Using social dynamics to explain uptake in energy saving measures: Lessons from space conditioning interventions in Japan and California | Outcault, S., Sanguinetti, A. & M. Pritoni. | Peer-reviewed Article | Energy Research & Social Science | 2018 | This paper examines the intersection of the social attributes of cooling measures and the prevailing social dynamics within households. A game-theoretical model is developed to illustrate how the varied combinations of measure attributes and social dynamics can yield different cooling strategies across households. | Read Article | mtrp |
| Aligning Occupant Behavior with ZNE Community Goals and Assumptions: Quantifying and Leveraging Behavioral Plasticity | Angela Sanguinetti, Sarah Outcault, Alan Meier | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2018 | In residential communities designed for energy efficiency, do the occupants take an active role in conserving energy, or leave it up to the home itself? We examined cooling practices in a new, low-energy development, located in one of the hottest climates in the world. The Sustainable City (TSC) in Dubai attracts individuals from across the globe, with varying cultures, values, attitudes, and habits. TSC staff promote a culture of sustainability, but there are challenges in achieving zero net energy (ZNE). Data on household energy consumption were collected from residents and household staff through in-person interviews and an online survey. We found evidence of a wide range of occupant values and cooling strategies. Many residents came from cooler regions in the world and were unfamiliar with cooling practices and technologies in their homes. We identified opportunities to leverage behavioral plasticity - i.e., residents' capacity to shift everyday practices - to save energy. This study suggests a framework for aligning occupant behavior with the goals and values embodied in sustainably-built communities. Specifically, designers and managers of sustainable communities need to educate, motivate, and support residents in order to encourage the specific energy-conserving practices required for sustainable buildings to achieve their technical potential. | Read Article | mtrp |
| MANY SHADES OF GREEN: Establishing a Culture of Sustainability in a Diverse, Developer-Driven Expatriate Community | Dessouky, Nermin, Angela Sanguinetti, Alan Meier, Sarah Outcault, and Richard Tutwiler | Peer-reviewed Article | Community | 2018 | We are a team of researchers from The University of California, Davis, and The American University of Cairo, investigating ways to promote a culture of sustainability in planned communities. We have been studying TSC for three years and observing how the community has been evolving over time. It is our assertion that although TSC is a large-scale developer-led community, it illustrates the ways in which the intention of a community is integral to sustainable lifestyles. We will discuss how some aspects of TSC's design and management promote, or present challenges to, the community's culture of sustainability. | Read Article | mtrp |
| Occupant Thermal Feedback for Improved Efficiency in University Buildings | Marco Pritoni, Kiernan Salmon, Angela Sanguinetti, Joshua Morejohn, Mark Modera | Peer-reviewed Article | Energy and Buildings | 2017 | Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are responsible for more than half of the energy consumed in many buildings on university campuses in the US. Despite the significant amount of energy spent on HVAC operations, thermal comfort conditions in campus buildings are frequently poor. Faulty assumptions or a lack of data regarding occupant comfort can lead to energy waste from overheating or overcooling. Additionally, inadequate operational procedures and outdated technology make it difficult for occupant needs to inform temperature management. For example, campuses frequently use work order systems to manage temperature issues, but this process is slow and not widely used by students, i.e., the majority of building occupants. | Read Article (paywall) | mtrp |
| Upscaling Participatory Thermal Sensing: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary Case Study at University of California for Improving Campus Efficiency and Comfort | Angela Sanguinetti, Marco Pritoni, Kiernan Salmon, Alan Meier, Joshua Morejohn | Peer-reviewed Article | Energy Research &Social Science | 2017 | Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is responsible for most of the energy consumed in many university buildings, which are still often uncomfortable for occupants. Previous research suggests crowdsourcing thermal comfort feedback from occupants, called participatory thermal sensing (PTS), and incorporating it into the HVAC control system can improve energy efficiency and comfort simultaneously. Most PTS research has focused on automated closed-loop systems whereby occupant feedback is automatically integrated into HVAC operations, but such systems are difficult to scale. | Download | mtrp |
| Teacher knows best? Balancing energy savings, air quality, and comfort in California’s schools | Outcault, S. | Presentation | Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference | 2017 | Summarizes findings from a teacher survey on classroom air quality. | Presentation Slides | mtrp |
| Can you take the heat? A cross-national comparison of thermal comfort strategies and energy-saving field experiments | Outcault, S. Pritoni, M., Heinemeier, K., and A. Mikami. | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2016 | This paper presents the findings of a pair of randomized control trial to encourage the use of passive cooling techniques in Japan and the U.S. | Download Paper | mtrp |
| Assessing Players, Products, and Perceptions of Home Energy Management | Rebecca Ford; Beth Karlin; Angela Sanguinetti; Anna Nersesyan; Marco Pritoni | Project Report | 2016 | The technologies that make up Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), providing users with information, feedback and/or control of household energy usage, are developing in a rapidly growing market within the broader smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) space. As developments create more and more energy saving products with increasing functionality, new strategies must be developed for engaging with end-users (both before adoption and after) in order to fully leverage these technologies for the energy reduction and load shifting capabilities they offer. | Download | mtrp | |
| How Do Small Businesses Experience Energy Reports? | Laura Cornish, Beth Karlin, Angela Sanguinetti, Jason Kaufman | Conference paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2016 | How do small businesses experience energy reports that benchmark their performance relative to similar businesses and provide recommendations to save energy? There is a large body of research focused on energy feedback in the residential sector, but significantly less in the commercial sector. Studies in both sectors have focused on the effectiveness of feedback in terms of savings outcomes, while relatively little is known about how customers experience the interface itself. This paper presents a synthesis of results from a series of user research studies conducted with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada, the United States, and Australia. | Download | mtrp |
| The Iterative Design of a University Energy Dashboard | Angela Sanguinetti, Marco Pritoni, Kiernan Salmon, Joshua Morejohn | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2016 | Energy dashboards are monitoring and display systems that provide information about building energy use. Dashboards may provide information, alarms, and complex trends to support engineers in identifying energy inefficiencies in a building. Public interfaces may contain simpler trends, with a greater focus on aesthetics and framing of content to promote interest and engagement. | Download | mtrp |
| TherMOOstat: Occupant Feedback to Improve Comfort and Efficiency on a University Campus | Angela Sanguinetti, Marco Pritoni, Kiernan Salmon, Joshua Morejohn | Conference Paper | ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings | 2016 | Despite the significant amount of energy spent on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) at universities, thermal comfort conditions in campus buildings are frequently poor. Conventional HVAC management systems at universities are typically out of the hands of building occupants and facilities management departments have limited resources to involve them. These factors can lead to over-heating or over-cooling and undiagnosed mechanical issues. | Download | mtrp |
| Characterization and Potential of Home Energy Management (HEM) Technology | Beth Karlin; Rebecca Ford; Angela Sanguinetti; Cassandra Squiers; John Gannon; Mukund Rajukumar; Kat A. Donnelly | Project Report | 2015 | The Home Energy Management (HEM) market is rapidly expanding alongside substantial investments to improve energy efficiency and upgrade electricity infrastructure to a smart grid. These changes enable consumers to take greater control of their energy use, which can be enabled through the use of Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS). | Download | mtrp | |
| Diffusion of Feedback: Perceptions and Adoption of Devices in the Residential Market | Beth Karlin, Angela Sanguinetti, Nora Davis, Kristen Bendanna, Kristen Holdsworth, Jessie Baker, David Kirkby, Daniel Stokols | Peer-reviewed Article | Lecture Notes in Computer Science | 2015 | Providing households with energy feedback is widely promoted as a conservation strategy and its effectiveness has been established in field studies. However, such studies actively recruit participants and little is known about naturalistic consumers. Despite hundreds of products emerging, few have taken hold in the market. Diffusion of innovation is a theory of technology adoption that details both the general process by which innovation spreads as well as the individual process of technology adoption. | Read Article (paywall) | mtrp |
| What about Everyone Else? Thinking Beyond the Customer: Market Barriers to Adoption of Efficient HVAC Technologies | Outcault, S. | Presentation | Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference | 2015 | Identifies market barriers impeding the adoption of emerging HVAC technologies in California, using a behavior economics model of behavior change. | Presentation Slides | mtrp |
| Market Barriers to Widespread Diffusion of Climate-Appropriate HVAC Retrofit Technologies | Outcault, S. Kutzleb, J., Wooley, J. and K. Heinemeier. | Project Report | 2015 | Examines the market barriers impeding the adoption of emerging HVAC technologies in California, using a behavior economics model of behavior change. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Assessment of the hybrid solar technologies for air conditioning in the Sustainable City of Dubai | Rahman, M.; Ghaddar, N.; Ghali, K.; Outcault, S.; P. Stroeve | Project Report | 2015 | This paper examines the technical requirements for a renewables-powered air conditioning system for a building in The Sustainable City of Dubai. | Read Report | mtrp | |
| Can AC Use be Reduced? Field Experiments to Encourage Adoption of Alternative Cooling Strategies in Japan and the U.S. | Outcault, S. Heinemeier, K., Pritoni, M., Kutzleb, J. and Q. Wang. | Project Report | 2015 | This paper reports on a pair of randomized control trial to encourage the use of passive cooling techniques in Japan and the U.S. | Read Report | mtrp |
