Reducing plug-load electricity footprint of residential buildings through low-cost, non-intrusive sub-metering and personalized feedback technology Award Number: DE-EE0007684 CX(s) Applied: A9, B5.1 Solar Energy Technologies Office Date: 8/11/201...
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
September 9, 2016
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Reducing plug-load electricity footprint of residential buildings through low-cost, non-intrusive sub-metering and personalized feedback technology
Award Number: DE-EE0007684
CX(s) Applied: A9, B5.1
Building Technologies Office
Date: 8/11/2016
Location(s): NY
Office(s): Golden Field Office
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to provide federal funding to The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York to measure electricity consumption in the residential sector focusing on reducing and optimizing plug-load electricity consumption in multi-family dwellings. Project activities would be completed at Columbia University with installation of equipment for data acquisition occurring within approximately 30 residential buildings owned/managed by Columbia University.
Project activities would include the installation of electric load metering equipment and wi-fi routers in residential buildings, recruiting study participants, conducting interviews and surveys with residents, developing software, informing residents of their electricity consumption, and planning for technology-to-market and commercialization. All activities other than the installation of equipment in the buildings consist entirely of information gathering and dissemination as well as intellectual, academic, and analytical activities. Installation of the equipment would occur within the basements of each building. The electric load metering equipment would attach to the existing 240 VAC main circuit for each apartment and the wi-fi router would be connected to the existing internet wiring of the building. No modifications to the buildings are required for the installations. The exact buildings where equipment installations would occur are not known at this time but based on the activities proposed, would have no potential to cause effects to historic properties, assuming they were present, therefore DOE has no further obligations under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. DOE does not anticipate any impacts to resources of concern due to the proposed activities of the project.