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Affiliate Membership & Technical Service Programs
The Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) offers two “prepackaged” approaches for organizations to access its services—the Affiliate Membership and Technical Services Programs—as described below. Custom research agreements are also available upon request.
Affiliate Membership Program
Organizations seeking to develop/design/promote high-performance, high-efficiency cooling systems may join the WCEC Affiliate Membership Program to participate in and benefit from WCEC resources and activities. WCEC Affiliates have quick and easy access to a range of specific program activities that are outside of the scope of individually-funded services or research and development activities. The WCEC Affiliate Membership Program presents advantages of rapid mobilization to meet the following range of activities:
- Technology Display – WCEC Affiliate Member technology demonstrations displays and exhibits in the building lobby are open to both WCEC users and the general public. Other energy centers throughout California may use material from these exhibits as well.
- Training and AV Facility – The WCEC includes a 30-person training space used for seminars and educational programs for customer and staff support. Affiliate Members have access to this facility to support their own needs for seminars and training of specifiers, staff and customers. The space includes the full range of audiovisual and technical support to facilitate a wide variety of Affiliate Member requirements in a convenient West Coast location with easy parking and access to the Sacramento Airport and the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Strategic Planning – The WCEC develops unique relationships with Affiliate Members that influence the strategic planning of both the WCEC and the affiliate member. Strategic planning activities strengthen the WCEC’s relationships with Affiliate Members and offer opportunities for mutual influence in determining direction and scope of future activities at strategic levels. They are formed through discussions with WCEC senior staff. These strategic planning meetings can be conducted on the phone, in person at WCEC, or at the Affiliate Member’s site.
- On-Site Training/Seminars – WCEC staff provide on-site training and seminars for Affiliate Members to support their existing energy centers, university programs and manufacturing activities throughout California and the United States. Seminar programs are directed at emerging technologies in conjunction with technical resources from the manufacturing sector on cutting-edge products and systems.
- Visiting scholar/intern program – The WCEC offers lab space and clerical support to visiting scholars and interns working at the WCEC on a particular topic or project.
- Inclusion in WCEC’s Newsletter – The WCEC will publish and distribute a monthly newsletter distributed to hundreds of cooling professionals, utility program planners, and policy makers in California and across the United States. Affiliate members are welcome to contribute articles and news items for inclusion in the newsletter, which will include a variety of articles related to building and process cooling, overviews of selected new products, research news, an event directory, a professional service directory, position announcements, etc.
Affiliate Membership Fees
Affiliate memberships are offered at three different levels, as shown in Table
Table 1: WCEC Affiliate Membership Levels
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Activities
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$50,000/yr
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$25,000/yr
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$10,000/yr
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Maximum Service Levels
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1.
Technology Display
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6 months
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3 months
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1 month
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2.
Use of WCEC Training and WCEC Facility
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12 days
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6 days
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2 days
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3.
Strategic Planning
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12 days
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6 days
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2 days
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4.
On-Site Training/Seminars
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12 days
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6 days
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2 days
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5.
Visiting scholar/intern program
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4 weeks
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2 weeks
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1 week
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6.
Participation in the WCEC Affiliates Newsletter
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12 News
12 articles
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6 News
6 articles
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2 News
2 articles
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Period of Service
Affiliate Memberships are active for 12 months after signing the agreement
Technical Services Program
Affiliate Members and non-Affiliates can access WCEC’s research capabilities and staff expertise for laboratory and field testing, evaluation of cooling technologies, and related technical services. The charge for these additional services is the actual cost of labor, including costs for supplies and equipment, as approved by the University of California, Davis. The actual cost for a particular project will vary depending on the time and staff needed and clients will receive a cost estimate in advance of services. Affiliates can receive these services at a reduced overhead rate of 8.0% (the campus minimum), while non-Affiliates will pay a 29.5% overhead rate.
“Converting” To An Affiliate Membership
As noted in “Technical Service Program” above, organizations that are not WCEC Affiliate Members may contract with the Center for technical services, but they will incur 21.5% higher overhead costs. To accommodate an organization’s ability to access lower overhead rates after they begin using WCEC services, they may become Affiliate Members and convert their earlier contracts to the lower overhead structure if they spend over $25,000 in a twelve-month period. With such a “conversion” the Affiliate Membership cost will be discounted by the overhead cost credit from the earlier contracts. The 12-month Affiliate Membership period will start when the first contract began at the higher overhead rate.
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Affililates 
