Presentation by Session

Speakers and Presentations for Breakout Session 3 / 1:45 - 2:30 PM

Spencer Ingaldson

Room Connect C-1
Leveraging groundwater to bring geothermal everywhere

Darcy Solutions groundwater based geothermal systems provide 100+ tons of capacity per well by utilizing a heat exchanger placed in the aquifer. This leap in technology and capacity is drastically reducing the amount of space needed to implement a geothermal system. Darcy’s team of geologists are able to precisely design a system that is capable of leveraging constant groundwater temperatures to operate with unbalanced loads, with no limit to the size of the system. Darcy’s technology is currently operating at many Midwest locations, including Hospitals, K-12, Municipal Facilities and Universities. Many more projects are currently in construction in Wisconsin. This technology is allowing new and existing building owners to decarbonize, lower their operating costs and leverage the Inflation Reduction Act.

BIO

Spencer Ingaldson serves as the Chief Development Officer at Darcy Solutions, overseeing Business Development, Sales, Marketing, and Applications Engineering. With over 16 years of specialized experience in HVAC systems sales, Spencer brings a wealth of knowledge in applied HVAC systems, along with a deep understanding of the commercial and industrial HVAC markets. A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Spencer also holds a USGBC-LEED Accredited Professional certification, underscoring his commitment to sustainable building practices.

Rebecca Ellis

Room Connect C-3
Making the Case for Ongoing Commissioning

Ongoing commissioning (OCx) has become an industry buzzword in recent years. Typically, OCx applies to new, high-performance buildings, in which a building automation system (BAS) collects and analyzes performance data to help fine-tune the building’s operation. However, such high-performance buildings make up a very small portion of the current building stock in the U.S.
In this course, we’ll demonstrate how many existing buildings can greatly benefit from a simpler form of OCx. Despite the limitations of available data from such buildings, we can perform less sophisticated, but arguably equally beneficial processes to improve building performance. Just as no two buildings are alike—a common refrain in building operations—no two applications of ongoing commissioning should be alike, either. This presentation will detail case studies of buildings that have taken advantage of OCx services. We will cover the processes used, overall best practices, and the benefits of applying these concepts to a variety of buildings.

BIO

Rebecca Ellis is a nationally recognized leader in the building commissioning industry. In addition to being a licensed professional engineer in 13 states, she is a LEED Accredited Professional and holds commissioning certifications from ASHRAE, the Building Commissioning Association, and the AABC Commissioning Group. She has Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and the University of Minnesota, respectively. Ms. Ellis has over 30 years of experience engineering and managing a variety of HVAC system projects. Ms. Ellis is a specialist in the design, analysis, and commissioning of intricate temperature and humidity control systems with a particular strength in direct digital controls. She has helped define mainstream commissioning services and has written a monthly column about commissioning for Engineered Systems magazine for 17 years. Ms. Ellis and the team of commissioning professionals at Questions & Solutions Engineering have successfully commissioned more than 75 LEED registered and certified (mostly Silver and Gold) projects.

Pawel Olszewski

Room Collaborate A
Lessons Learned from Energy Analysis and Optimization of an Existing Microgrid

In today’s rapidly changing world, renewable energy-powered microgrids are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional energy systems. This presentation explores the energy flow within a microgrid operating under dynamically shifting power generation and consumption conditions. The comprehensive energy analysis covers all components establishing the microgrid system. Real data collected by power meters provides valuable insights into the load structure and power consumption characteristics within the existing microgrid. By combining this information with available meteorological data, the optimal size of windmills and solar panels was determined to sustain an independent microgrid system, which necessitates the implementation of energy storage solutions. Our calculations have estimated the required size for battery storage, compensating for erratic electricity generation and extending electricity availability beyond the hours with sufficient solar irradiation and wind capacity. Based on the analysis provided, we propose a rough cost estimation for the microgrid power generation and storage system. Renewable-powered microgrids offer a wide spectrum of feasible applications, but only with relevant management and scheduling of load components, significantly impacting our current on-demand consumption habits. Additionally, microgrids open new potentials for long-term (several months) energy storage by significantly oversized electricity generation sites operating in summer mode.

BIO

Dr. Pawel Olszewski serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology at the UW Oshkosh since 2014. He designed and constructed Teaching and Energy Research Industrial Lab, including patented prototype of the Flameless Impingement Oven.
Dr. Olszewski focused his professional interests on modelling and optimization of energy conversion processes. He conducted over 80 energy audits, in various manufacturing systems, generating significant energy savings.
Dr. Olszewski’s educational path led him from Warsaw University of Technology (Ph.D.) in Power Engineering area, to his Postdoc at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. For nearly ten years he worked in the Central Laboratory of the Polish Oil and Gas Company. He turned his interest towards energy conservation in industry while working in the Poland-Japan Energy Conservation Technology Center.
Having his skills and knowledge, Dr. Olszewski’s established Industrial Energy Consulting serving and consulting the local industrial sector in an energy field.

Marcus Ellson

Room Collaborate B
Unlocking the Potential of AI in buildings

Discover the future of smart buildings, where artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the built environment, unlocking unparalleled performance and insight. This future entails indoor spaces that achieve new levels of performance, energy efficiency, and occupant comfort through intelligent building systems. Join our Trane controls and building intelligence expert as we delve into the latest technologies, key considerations, and invaluable resources that will guide you through every crucial step to reach your goals. Learn how a Trane customer introduced predictive optimization using an AI-enabled service which has been implemented at over 190 clinics, producing impressive results and showcasing its scalability and ability to reduce carbon footprint while maintaining safety requirements.

BIO

Marcus Ellson joined Trane in 2008 as a Controls Technical Support Engineer. In 2010 he moved into Controls Product Development and worked on a wide variety of projects including enhancements to standard applications, new system integration features, support of legacy controls products, enterprise data analytics tools, graphics productivity savings, and product licensing. Marcus manages a group of Product Planning Engineers working on the entire breadth of controls products. Marcus also serves as Product Manager for Trane Autonomous Control. Marcus graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering, and later a Masters in Management of Technology.

Dan Streit

Room Collaborate C
City Energy Planning: From Community Support to Implementation

Many of the largest U.S. cities have adopted ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions. However, not all communities have the resources to tackle the complexity of lowering energy use and to know how to prioritize actions to meet energy goals. Across Wisconsin, several communities, both large and small, are developing and implementing energy plans. This presentation will offer an overview of municipal energy plans currently underway, with a specific focus on experiences shared by speakers from Madison, Green Bay, and Middleton.

BIO

Dan Streit, Senior Researcher, Slipstream, is an experienced researcher, with expertise in residential and commercial clean energy financing, as well as municipal energy planning and intersections between energy programs and community priorities. He advises on Slipstream’s development and administration of multifamily and commercial financing programs in four states and has experience developing high-impact financing programs. Dan’s research informs the development of Slipstream’s financing, agriculture, and community-based programs. His work poises the organization to provide community-driven solutions, financing programs, and consulting services that enable households, property owners, businesses, and local governments to operate more efficiently and reduce negative environmental impact.

Highlights of Dan’s tenure with Slipstream have included co-managing and leading a multi-stakeholder redevelopment of the PACE Wisconsin program and tripling Slipstream’s Energy Finance Solutions (EFS) volume of funded loans in a three-year period. He is energized by working with dedicated colleagues and partners to explore holistic climate solutions.

Kelly S. Hilyard, MLA

Sustainability Coordinator, City of Middleton

BIO

Need BIO

Jessica Price, PhD

Sustainability and Resilience Manager, City of Middleton

BIO

Dr. Jessica Price is the Sustainability and Resilience Manger in the City of Madison Mayor’s Office, where she leads a team to develop and implement strategies focused on climate, sustainability, and environmental justice. Top priorities include meeting Madison’s ambitious climate and energy goals; investments in equitable, no- and low-carbon transportation; and improving the energy efficiency of affordable housing and commercial buildings. Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Jessica served as Renewable Energy Strategy Lead for the Nature Conservancy in New York. She has a PhD in Landscape Ecology and an MS in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pamela Ritger de la Rosa
Environmental Sustainability Program Manager, City of Milwaukee

BIO

Pamela Ritger de la Rosa, Environmental Sustainability Program Manager, City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) Pam leads efforts to reduce energy use in City of Milwaukee-owned buildings and helps to administer the Commercial PACE program, among other efforts to advance building energy efficiency, sustainability and decarbonization in commercial and multifamily buildings. Pam was a member of the City-County Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity from 2019 to 2022, and helped develop many recommendations in Milwaukee’s Climate and Equity Plan. In her current role, she is working to implement many of those recommendations, particularly those related to building energy efficiency. She recently led the effort to establish a benchmarking ordinance in the City of Milwaukee requiring commercial buildings 50,000 square feet and larger, and government buildings 10,000 square feet and larger to annually track and report their energy use, which has been shown to reduce energy use over time and is a foundational first step to reducing energy use from large commercial buildings through future policy efforts. Pam joined the ECO after more than 8 years with Clean Wisconsin, the state’s oldest and largest environmental non-profit advocacy organization, where she held the title of Milwaukee Program Director and Staff Attorney. Pam is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and completed a certificate in Energy Analysis and Policy from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison.

WISCONSIN ASSOCATION OF ENERGY ENGINEERS