WCEC Team Tests Real-World Performance of Low-GWP Heat Pumps
A new WCEC report explores affordable strategies to accelerate adoption of low-global-warming-potential (low-GWP) heat pumps in California homes.
WCEC Represents in DC for ARPA-E
WCEC researchers recently returned from the 2025 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., where they presented a liquid cooling demonstration as part of the COOLERCHIPS program.
The Air We Breathe: UC Davis Experts Uncover Indoor Air Challenges
Indoor air quality has a direct impact on health, influencing everything from respiratory health to disease transmission. WCEC Co-Director of Engineering Theresa Pistochini is leading efforts to develop smarter HVAC systems that improve air quality in schools.
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.
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.
Seeley Climate Wizard Hybrid: Packaged Roof Top Unit with Integrated Heat Pump and Indirect/Direct Evaporative Cooling
It is estimated that 75% of commercial building floor area in California is conditioned with packaged systems. The emerging technology assessed in this study is the Seeley Climate Wizard (CW) Hybrid, which is a packaged RTU that integrates a heat pump with an indirect-direct evaporative cooling (IDEC) system that is designed as a direct replacement for a traditional RTU.
Addressing Need for Low-Cost Ventilation Screening Tool in a Pandemic World
COVID-19 has permanently or temporarily altered numerous aspects of our lives. The importance of ventilation and ASHRAE recommended air changes per hour in mitigating the effects of coronavirus cannot be overstated.
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.