Designing Skylighted Buildings

From the Pacific Energy Center:

The 2005 California Title 24 Energy Standards for Nonresidential Buildings include a prescriptive requirement for skylights and electric lighting controls in spaces greater than 25,000 sq. ft. where the ceiling is above 15 ft. in height and lighting power density is 0.5 watts/sq.ft. or greater.

Draft changes to the 2008 California Title 24 Energy Standards for Nonresidential Buildings, scheduled to take effect in April of 2009, reduce the threshold to spaces greater than 8,000 sq. ft. This will broaden the requirement to many building types not previously covered such as gymnasia and moderate-sized retail stores. Are you ready? Space is still available in two Pacific Energy Center programs providing guidance and free software tools to assist in the design of skylighted buildings that reduce energy use while providing high-quality interior lighting environments.

These programs are free of charge, but pre-registration is required since space is limited. For registration and more detailed information about this program, go to www.pge.com/pec/classes on the Internet and click on the "SHOW CLASSES" button. You may also register by phone at 415-973-2277.

These classes are funded by California utility customers and administered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.

DESIGNING SKYLIGHTED BUILDINGS WITH SKYCALC
Thursday, March 6, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location: San Francisco - Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard St., San Francisco
This workshop will show you how to design skylighting systems (skylights, electric lights, controls, and building geometry) in commercial and industrial buildings.
The first hour of this program will provide a quick review of fundamental skylighting principles and example projects. The second half includes a hands-on tutorial in the use of SkyCalc. SkyCalc is a free, simple-to-use spreadsheet that quickly calculates the energy impacts of skylighting system choices and graphs the optimal skylight area. Each attendee will have access to a computer and and will be guided through sample projects using SkyCalc.

DESIGNING SKYLIGHTED BUILDINGS WITH eQUEST
Thursday, March 6, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: San Francisco - Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard St., San Francisco
This workshop is intended for designers who want a more detailed model of skylighting than can be provided by SkyCalc. eQUEST is a detailed whole building simulation program with a user friendly interface. This program can model the interactions between various skylighting alternatives and other efficiency measures including HVAC and envelope modifications. Each attendee will have access to a computer and and will be guided through sample projects using eQUEST. Before registering for this program you should be familiar with eQUEST or should attend the eQUEST software training scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2008. You should also be familiar with Skycalc or should take the March 6 morning class, "Designing Skylit Buildings with SkyCalc 3.0"

Both SkyCalc and eQuest are available as free downloads at http://www.energydesignresources.com/.

For more information: www.pge.com/pec/classes or 415-973-2277