Building Operators: Grid and Occupant (BOGO) Training

Lead Performer: Northeastern University – Boston, MA
Partners:
-- Northwest Energy Efficiency Council – Seattle, WA
-- Washington State University – Pullman, WA
DOE Total Funding: $750,000
Cost Share: $0
Project Term: October 1, 2021 - March 31, 2025
Funding Type: Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) FOA – 2020

Project Objective

The project will develop and demonstrate the value of a formal 14-hour supplemental curriculum to the Building Operators Certification Fundamentals program for pre-entry-level building operators that improves their literacy of grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB) and occupant-centric control (OCC). This building operators’ grid and occupant (BOGO) curriculum will accelerate the adoption of GEB and OCC. A transformational component of this project is the development of a Building Operation Emulator (BOEm). This real-time building energy simulation with an interactive dashboard will be used for teaching both building automation system (BAS) fundamentals, and how decisions made in the BAS affect occupants and energy use/costs. This curriculum should be scalable to vocational-technical high schools and community colleges nationwide, as illustrated by at least 75 students from at least two institutions who will have completed the BOGO study, pilot, and trial in total.

Project Impact

The relevant, high-quality, competency-based BOGO curriculum, technology, and materials can be scaled nationally and kept up to date for sustained distribution. The curriculum will have at least 14 hours of classroom time, split into modules and exercises with GEB and OCC learning objectives. Relevance will be measured based on the findings of the workshop of educational, research, and industry representatives. Quality will be measured based on the results of pilot assessments of the improvements in students’ competencies relating to GEB and OCC. Scalability and value will be measured by having at least three partners signed on to offer the curriculum within their training programs.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Madeline Salzman
Lead Performer: Michael Kane, Northeastern University