Last week energy efficiency professionals gathered for the annual Summer Study on Energy Efficiency, where the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy presents innovative ideas on the topic of Climate Solutions: Efficiency, Equity, and Decarbonization. This year’s conference features two papers with contributions from ERI senior engineer Gretchen Schimelpfenig.
As utilities improve programs to increase indoor agriculture customer participation, Gretchen recommends energy efficiency strategies that reward continuous improvement. Growers benefit from whole-building approaches that engage them in cohorts and pair technology with education and utilities get reliable, cost-effective savings. Learn more about Increasing Equity for Growers through Strategic Energy Management in the 2022 ACEEE Summer Study Proceedings.
Greenhouse growers and indoor farmers need efficiency programs that recognize environmental performance with specialized metrics for controlled environment agriculture. Benchmarking efficiency and productivity of energy, water, and emissions can validate claims of sustainability with transparency. Read the rest of the paper on Data-Driven Energy Efficiency in Controlled Environment Agriculture in the 2022 ACEEE Summer Study Proceedings.
ERI would like to thank ACEEE, TRC Companies, and Resource Innovation Institute for collaborating with Gretchen as thought leaders in energy efficiency for growers.
About the Author:
Gretchen Schimelpfenig is a Senior Energy Engineer at Energy Resources Integration, LLC where she implements energy efficiency programs and provides direct consulting services. She is the former Technical Director of the Resource Innovation Institute and manager of the organization’s Technical Advisory Council. She authored RII’s Lighting, HVAC, and Facility Design & Construction Best Practices Guides for Controlled Environment Agriculture and the Lighting, HVAC, and Controls Best Practices Guides for Cannabis Cultivation. She has worked with partners like the University of Vermont to optimize commercial and industrial buildings, including greenhouses and controls systems used for academic research on hemp and other cultivars. She has a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. She is a licensed Civil Professional Engineer in California and Vermont.