About
The Advanced Energy Efficiency Strategies Charrette was held in Cambridge and Boston, MA, on November 5-7, 2007. Participants included experts in the fields of energy, buildings and transportation - from academic institutions, businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies - based in the Boston area and across the country.
The participants met to develop strategies to achieve energy reduction goals proposed by the Cambridge Energy Alliance, particularly:
- Reduce peak electric demand in the City of Cambridge by 50 MW, and
- Reduce fossil fuel consumption in the City of Cambridge by 5 percent.
The charrette also aimed to:
- Identify targets for the Boston Innovation Challenge.
RMI’s final report summarized many of the ideas suggested during the workshop, and then through research and analysis, provided scenarios that test the effectiveness of these ideas towards reaching the Cambridge Energy Alliance’s energy reduction goals. The report also provided a list of ideas for the Boston Innovation Challenge - prioritizing the ideas based on potential for early and significant energy-reduction impact.
Charrette participants and the general public are encouraged to read the report and tell us - What was missed? What else could work? What was raised as an innovation, but already exists?
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is well structured to be a laboratory for new approaches and technologies - the charrette is just one way we intend to capture the best thinking on efficiency technologies and behavioral opportunities.
How the Charrette was Organized
To develop innovative strategies and foster cross-pollination, different breakout groups were convened on each of the three charrette days; each group was provided a facilitator and note-taker from RMI.
Day One consisted of brainstorming sessions intended to generate ideas that would lead to a reduction in energy demand.
On Day Two, participants were reassigned into breakout groups to discuss the application of the previous day’s ideas for various market segments. The goal was to generate the best strategies to reduce demand within each market segments.
And finally on Day Three, the workshop focused on the implementation of not only the strategies outlined during the previous two days but also the implementation of the program as a whole.
Breakout groups for each day were:
Day 1
- heating and cooling
- lighting and electricity
- architecture and building envelope
- controls and demand response
- infrastructure
Day 2
- existing residential buildings
- existing commercial buildings
- new construction
- transportation
- institutions
Day 3
- finance
- policy
- utility programs
- campus leadership
- Boston Innovation Challenge