Task 05-14. Educational Outreach Seminars to the Retail Sector and the Hotel /Motel Hospitality Segment

Objective

Interactive educational seminars are conceived as open invitational meetings designed to draw leaders in the economic sector as well as in leaders in manufacturing, building design, construction, and operations that serve that sector. The goal for each seminar is to have approximately 50 participants. The agenda for each meeting will be designed to present the relevant work of the National Center research programs and to create a context for interactive review, comment, and redirection of the National Center research agenda. The focus of the meeting will be on the status, findings, and direction of the specific other tasks that comprise the DOE project.

The first seminar addresses the retail sector which constitutes the second largest building segment with regard to floor space and has the second highest specific energy consumption (Btuh per square foot of floor space).

The second seminar will bring together a representative cross-section of financial officers from selected commercial and institutional construction segments to address the internal barriers that exist to improvements of energy performance of buildings. The National Center has held three seminars addressing various building usage segments (education, healthcare, food service) and each seminar identified internal barriers to improvements of building energy performance. There exist a significant gap in presenting energy improvement measures as they relate to the short, mid and long-term financial objectives owners and operators of commercial and institutional buildings. The purpose if this seminar is to address this gap.

The project commenced on January 1, 2006 and be completed in 12 months.