Slipping Through the Cracks: How Advances in Aerosol Sealing May Hold the Key to Greater Home Energy Efficiency

Research conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Center for Energy and Environment, and the UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center delves into the benefits of aerosol envelope sealing techniques for existing residential buildings.
WCEC Receives Best Paper Award from ASHRAE

Erfan Rasouli, Emily Fricke and Vinod Narayanan were recipients of the Science and Technology for the Built Environment Best Paper Award
WCEC Engineer Presents at the IEA Heat Pump Conference

WCEC presents at the IEA Heat Pump Conference on a Multi-function Heat Pump (MFHP) system that uses one outdoor unit to provide both domestic hot water (DHW) along with space cooling and heating.
Are Southern California students and teachers breathing clean air?

New laws and funding push ventilation to boost air quality and slow spread of COVID-19. But experts cite too many loopholes and not enough consistency.
New Published Paper by WCEC that Experimentally and Numerically Characterizes the Performance of a Novel Cooling and Heat Recovery System

In this study a M−cycle heat and mass exchanger was used as a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) to recover energy from the exhaust air stream during winter and as an IEC during summer to cool the ventilation air.
Fighting Climate Change with Heat Pumps

Western Cooling Efficiency Center research featured in an article published by the Energy Institute at Haas. Replacing your home HVAC system with a new heat pump reduces carbon emissions significantly. But when should you make the change?
UC Davis Developing Tech Using Current Air Conditioning Systems to Combat Climate Change Effects

The Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis is trying to develop new air technology that addresses problems with the grid and the challenges of climate change using our current AC systems.
Heat pumps: Coming to a home near you?

Washington building code proposal prompts debate as Inflation Reduction Act could spur heat pump use.
Do DIY air filters work against California wildfire smoke? What to know about cost and safety

Do-it-yourself air filters are safe, effective and can be used to protect your lungs from California wildfire smoke.
Modeling Impacts of Ventilation and Filtration Methods on Energy Use and Airborne Disease Transmission in Classrooms

This paper seeks to understand and analyze the trade-offs between airborne infection probability and energy consumption of ventilation systems for a simulated classroom in 13 cities across the US.