We hosted an exciting round of seminars as part of our spring Energy Bites. This series features the work of students and staff on campus that are striving to advance our energy-related research and its application. With presentations on everything from floatovolatics to carbon emissions accounting and UC Davis’ district energy progress, there was something to pique everyone’s interest.  [Watch Presentations]

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Research Team Selected for $4.6 M Department of Energy Award to Advance Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power 

 
Concentrating solar-thermal power technologies can help eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector. UC Davis and eight partnering institutions were selected to receive $4.6 M from the Department of Energy to advance high temperature receiver development for industrial process heat and solar thermal power generation. The team, led by Vinod Narayanan and Erfan Rasouli at UC Davis, will design, develop, and de-risk a 150-kilowatt solar-thermal receiver able to heat supercritcal carbon dioxide or air to temperatures from 600-900°C. [Learn More]
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Amanda Rupiper Featured in Smart Water Magazine

 

Amanda Rupiper, a post-doctoral researcher with the Center for Water-Energy Efficiency was interviewed on her career path and recent research related to water loss management. Amanda and colleagues used data from over 800 utilities across 4 states to characterize water losses across the country. They developed a model to assess the economically efficient level of losses and used that model to compare various water loss regulations and modeling approaches. Researchers found that for a median utility it is economically efficient to reduce water losses by 34.7% and that applying utility-specific solutions can save water at a profit for both utilities and society. [Read the Article]
Energy and Buildings Journal Cover

Study Shows Benefits of a Proposed District Energy System Design

 

A study by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center analyzed the greenhouse gas emissions for two different heating and cooling options for a proposed development in Davis – the Davis Innovation Sustainability Campus (DiSC). Compared to an all-electric, high-efficiency heat pump based system, researchers found that a district energy system could further improve energy efficiency by 26%, reduce total energy consumption by 14%, and reduce GHG emissions by 16%. [Read the Report]
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Sabbie Miller Receives NSF Career Award

 

Sabbie Miller, an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an Energy Graduate Group faculty member, received a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award. This prestigious award is one of the agency’s highest honors for young faculty and funds five-year research and education projects. Sabbie’s research focuses on designing sustainable infrastructure materials and minimizing their environmental impacts. Congratulations!
[Learn More]
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Lessons Learned on Decarbonizing Affordable Housing

 
A new study explores developers’ experiences with low-carbon multi-family affordable housing using three case studies that illustrate different pathways to decarbonization. The work, by researchers at the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, was published in Building Research & Information. The case studies outline challenges and strategies to overcome these challenges, which can help inform future housing development efforts pursuing lower-carbon designs. [Read the Study]